Span gives Nats 6-5 lead, Clippard coughs it up (Braves win 7-6 in 10 innings)

Tanner Roark's night has taken a turn for the worse in the second inning.

The Braves lead the Nationals 4-0, a three-run homer by shortstop Ramiro Pena capping off a four-run second. Pena is in the lineup because regular shortstop Andrelton Simmons is out with a wrist injury.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead when Justin Upton singled, Dan Uggla was hit by a pitch and Evan Gattis followed with a run-scoring single to center. Pena worked the count to 2-2 before crushing a pitch from Roark into the right field stands.

Right-hander Julio Teheran has allowed only two hits - second-inning singles by Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper - but worked out of the jam when Ian Desmond bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Roark needed 43 pitches to get through two innings.

Update: The Nats loaded the bases off Teheran with one out in the fourth, and Desmond hit an RBI single to get them on the scoreboard. But Teheran fanned Jose Lobaton and got Roark on a grounder to escape further damage. It's 4-1 Atlanta heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Update II: It took a while for the bats to heat up, but the Nats have fought back from a four-run deficit and tied the game on Ryan Zimmerman's three-run homer in the fifth inning.

All the damage came with two outs. Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche was safe on a throwing error by Uggla. Zimmerman worked the count full and sent a no-doubter into the stands in left.

Update III: Roark exited after 4 2/3 innings, but not before he gave up a double to Freddie Freeman. Aaron Barrett relieved and allowed his first hit of his major league career, an RBI single to right by Chris Johnson, as the Braves retook the lead 5-4. The run was charged to Roark.

Roark yielded five runs (four earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Update IV: Atlanta's lead didn't last long, as Lobaton doubled in the sixth and pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen followed with an RBI single for a 5-5 tie. That takes Roark off the hook.

Ross Detwiler is on to face the Braves in the sixth.

Update V: The Nats gambled and lost in the seventh, but it took a video replay review to decide the outcome. LaRoche tried to score from second when Jordan Walden bounced a pitch to Harper. Third base coach Bob Henley made an aggressive send as the ball skittered away and LaRoche was nabbed at the plate on a nice backhanded sweep tag by Walden on a throw from Gattis.

Nats manager Matt Williams asked for a replay, which upheld the original out call by home plate umpire Adrian Johnson.

Update VI: The Nats have taken their first lead, courtesy of Denard Span's RBI single with two down in the eighth.

The go-ahead rally started with a bunt single by Harper, who pushed the ball past the mound between first and second. With two outs, pinch-hitter Nate McLouth slapped a single up the middle that struck second base umpire Angel Hernandez. Harper might have made it to third had the ball gone through the infield, but the Nats were left with runners at first and second.

Span then lined a single to center, scoring Harper for a 6-5 edge, and took second when he ran into first baseman Freeman, who was called for interference.

Tyler Clippard is on to work the eighth.

Update VII: It's now 6-6 after eight innings. Justin Upton homered off Clippard, a one-out monster shot to straightaway center off a 1-2 fastball, for a 6-6 tie heading to the ninth.

Drew Storen struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth - all on swinging third strikes - and we're headed to the 10th inning. The Nats are done with Craig Kimbrel, who worked the ninth, and Luis Avilan is on for Atlanta.

Update VIII: The Braves take the opener, as Jordan Schafer raced home from first base on Upton's single to right in the 10th inning.

With two out and Jerry Blevins pitching, Johnson hit a soft liner to left for a single. Schafer pinch-ran and Blevins was intent on making sure he held the speedy runner close to first, making four pickoff throws.

With Schafer running on a 2-2 curveball, Upton knocked a base hit to right field. Harper, playing right after Werth was removed from the game, was playing deep to prevent a doubleand had to race in. He couldn't glove the ball cleanly and Schafer never broke stride to give the Braves an extra-inning win.

Werth exited after the top of the 10th, but no announcement was made as to why.

Update IX: The Nationals have announced that Werth left the game with groin tightness. He will re-evaluated Saturday.