Furious rally propels Nationals to 5-4 10-inning win over Braves

They endured through a miserable Thursday night (and Friday morning) at the ballpark that included a controversial rain delay, the injury of their center fielder and a loss to the Braves. And then they endured through eight frustrating innings tonight in which they couldn't produce against a 42-year-old knuckleballer and were on the verge of another loss.

And then came one of those magical bottom-of-the-ninth rallies that can completely change your opinion of a long night at the ballpark. Though it required a bottom-of-the-10th rally to seal the deal.

Down three runs in the ninth, the Nationals stormed back to tie the game against Braves closer Jim Johnson and force extra innings. They then sealed a 5-4 victory in the 10th when Daniel Murphy lined a ball over Matt Kemp's head in left field, bringing home the run that sent a crowd of 32,664 home happy.

The winning rally was ignited by Adrián Sanchez, who roped a single to center off Ian Krol for the first hit of his young major league career. After Bryce Harper lined out to left, Ryan Zimmerman shot a base hit to right field, sending Sanchez all the way to third. That set the stage for Murphy, who wasted little time lining Krol's pitch to left and over Kemp's head, spawning a celebration in the middle of the diamond.

In their ninth-inning rally, the Nationals saw their first four hitters reach safely against Johnson, with Harper singling, Zimmerman walking and Murphy and Anthony Rendon each singling home runs to trim the deficit to one.

Chris Heisey, fresh off the disabled list, grounded to third, and though he hustled to avoid a double play, Murphy had to hold at third base, leaving the game in the hands of Matt Wieters. Wieters battled through a long at-bat that included a questionable check-swing call by third base umpire Mike Everitt, which then prompted Braves manager Brian Snitker to be ejected for arguing.

Wieters then delivered the sacrifice fly to center field that brought Murphy home with the tying run. And when Wilmer Difo singled through the right side hole, the winning run advanced to third, with Brian Goodwin at the plate. Lefty Sam Freeman, though, got Goodwin to fly out and force extras, making everyone forget what happened up to that point.

As has been the case more than once this year with Max Scherzer on the mound, the Nationals' robust lineup fell mostly silent. That group was stymied tonight by R.A. Dickey, who used his knuckleball to perfection in carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finishing with one run allowed in seven frames.

Dickey thus outdueled Scherzer, whose moment of reckoning came in the top of the eighth. After striking out the first two batters he faced, his pitch count stood at 109. With the Nationals trailing 2-1, Oliver Pérez warming in the bullpen and the left-handed Ender Inciarte at the plate, Dusty Baker could have pulled his starter.

Instead, Scherzer stayed in. He faced a full count against Inciarte but then issued his first walk of the night. And with the right-handed Brandon Phillips now up, he allowed a single on an 0-2 pitch, thus ending his night with the bases loaded and his pitch count at 120.

Pérez entered to face Freddie Freeman, who had already given the Braves the lead with a seventh-inning homer off Scherzer, and proceeded to surrender a two-run single and spoil what had been an electric pitchers' duel.

Any Scherzer start these days is accompanied by some extra electricity in the ballpark, with fans surely wondering what everyone wonders right now: Is there a chance they might witness history?

Turns out it was the guy pitching against Scherzer who came closer to doing something special.

Most of the Nationals have faced Dickey plenty of times over the years, and most have had success against him, but on this night they were befuddled by his knuckleball, barely able to make solid contact through the first portion of the evening.

By the time he struck out Rendon to end the fifth, Dickey departed the field with a no-hitter in his sights, his pitch count a mere 56.

Scherzer was no slouch, and indeed the Nationals ace retired the first nine batters he faced on this warm July night. Even so, his stuff didn't appear as sharp as it usually has during his recent run of excellence. And as the evening progressed, he made just enough mistakes for the Braves to take advantage.

Inciarte led off the fourth with a double to the gap in right-center for the first hit of the game by either club, then scored moments later on Phillips' hot shot up the middle past a diving Murphy.

The Nationals finally delivered against Dickey in the bottom of the sixth when Stephen Drew lined a ball to right field and hustled his way to a double, then scored on Wieters' RBI single to left.

But the Braves immediately struck back, with a longtime nemesis coming through yet again. Freeman's leadoff homer in the seventh, on an 0-1 slider that moved horizontally across the plate, found the second deck in right field. And thus Atlanta took a 2-1 lead and left the Nationals needing to rally late to avoid a second straight loss.