Nats beat Braves 3-1 with top of order contributing just like last season

The Nationals offense waited over two hours and a half inning to finally get a shot at Braves left-hander Alex Wood.

They jumped on him quickly thanks to the one-two punch of Denard Span and Anthony Rendon. In the first, Span doubled and Rendon brought him home with a RBI single for a 1-0 lead. In the third, Span had a RBI single to make it 2-0. Rendon followed with another base hit. Rendon finished 4-for-4.

The Nationals went on to win the opener of the series, 3-1.

Manager Matt Williams said the duo at the top of the order is starting to get back into a groove they enjoyed in 2014.

"Yeah, it's getting there," Williams said. "For Anthony, if he's hitting the ball on a line the other way you know his swing's right. In recent days, he's hit some ground balls to short. If he's doing that, then you know he's not quite right on his timing. But tonight, the first one down the line, just trying to get Denard over, and hit a ball down the line to drive in a run and then line drives to the middle of the diamond are his key. He did that tonight for us."

Span said having Rendon at the plate while he's on base makes a world of difference to the possibility that he will score in the inning. He finished 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored, reaching base in 16 straight games. Span said having the one-two punch of him and Rendon back together makes it difficult for the defense to record outs.

"I think it just sets the tone," Span said. "It sets the whole offense in motion. Especially if I get on base and he comes behind me. He usually gives me a pitch or two to try to get to second base. If I don't steal, he's very capable of hitting homer or a double. It just sets the tone just for the whole team and the whole game whenever we do our jobs."

Williams said having Span and Rendon back together was one major reason why they always had the table set for the heart of the order in 2014 as the team worked it's way to a division title and 96 wins. Rendon went 4-for-4 for his first four-hit game of the season and sixth of his career. He has now hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games.

"They're both on base guys for us," Williams said. "They both have the ability to drive a baseball as well. They can hit doubles and triples. But to move a baseball like Anthony did tonight, Denard leads off with a double, and he just moves the baseball the other way. Just sets up innings for us. They both have a good sense of the strike zone when they are standing at the plate, so they walk a lot, which sets up our three, four, five guys. That was a measure of our success last year. Those two guys at the top of the lineup are important to us."

"Denard's playing really well and Tony's back in the lineup feeling good, feeling healthy," said right-hander Tanner Roark, who pitched two scoreless innings. "He's looking Tony-esque. His first base hit down the line you could just tell he's taking balls where he's being pitched at. He looks very good."

Span said the team has tried to steal more bases with him in the lineup and get more aggressive on the bases.

"I think it's just something that's happened over the last week, but we always talk in our meetings about being aggressive, going first to third," Span said. "We have a lot of athleticism on this team. That's something that we preach from spring training, and just think the last couple of weeks we've started opening up and see opportunities and we've been taken them."

And did he feel like they had an advantage on Wood after both teams sat around for a sleepy two-hour, 12-minute rain delay.

"I was sleepy, too, I'll be honest," Span smiled. "I'm not sure if I had an advantage or not. I try to take a little caffeine to perk me up a little bit. It's tough. Rain delays are tough for everybody. Just happy that we're able to get on board in the first inning and get the team going and get the flow of the game going in our side."