Harper, Strasburg carry Nats to 2-0 opening day win

By Dan Kolko

Nationals

April 01, 2013, 11:20am

Comments

The Nationals plated two runs today. Both came off the bat of Bryce Harper, who clubbed solo home runs in his first two at-bats of the season. The Nats shut out the Marlins. Seven of those scoreless innings came from Stephen Strasburg, who retired 19 in a row at one point, allowed just three hits and failed to walk a batter. A sellout crowd of 45,274 - the largest paid attendance in Nats Park history - got quite a show this afternoon, as the Nats beat the Marlins 2-0 in their 2013 regular season opener. Harper provided the offense and made a great throw from left field to the plate in the seventh inning that ended a Miami threat and resulted in a 7-2-3-4-2 double play. Strasburg needed just 80 pitches to get through his seven strong frames, and was locked in against a new-look Marlins lineup that doesn't present too many threats. Tyler Clippard (not Drew Storen) worked the eighth inning, pitching around a leadoff walk to set down Miami, and in his Nats debut, Rafael Soriano retired the side in order to get the save. Soriano set down Giancarlo Stanton on strikes to end the game. The Nationals' season is off to a strong start, with their two former No. 1 picks looking every bit like they're in midseason form, even on April 1.