Roark, Harper and Severino highlight Nats 8-1 win over Braves

ATLANTA - Three players who had yet to appear in a Nationals game in 2018 came up big in an 8-1 series-opening victory over the Braves at SunTrust Park.

Tanner Roark, Pedro Severino and Shawn Kelley made significant contributions, coupled with a mammoth three-run homer by Bryce Harper, lifting the Nats to their fourth straight win to begin the season.

The Nationals are 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Roark (1-0) tossed seven innings, allowing only one run. Kelley fired a shutout eighth inning highlighted by a pair of strikeouts. Severino caught for them both and went 2-for-2 at the plate with two singles, two walks, a run and an RBI.

The Nationals led 5-0 before the Braves cleanup hitter Nick Markakis had a chance to bat.

Roark struck out six and scattered four hits on 93 pitches. He credited advice from his pitching teammates for an alteration in his windup. Roark's back-to-basics delivery was smooth throughout the warm (77 degrees at first pitch) night, following up a 91-pitch simulation game in Florida last week, caught also by Severino, for a solid first regular season start.

Roark now has a 2.77 career ERA against Atlanta. Nationals starters have begun the season 4-0 with an insane 1.07 ERA.

"We were talking about it, (Stephen) Strasburg was talking to me about it, Max (Scherzer) was talking to me about it, just getting back to feeling the way I usually feel," Roark said. "Feeling good and feeling my windup just making sure everything's smooth and slow and then go.

"Instead of my head moving too much and the previous one was trying to make it simpler but Ithink they helped me out with making it a lot simpler. As for the game, I felt great, everything was working, Sevy did a heck of a job behind the plate calling good pitches and the team put some runs on the board early and never looked back."

Manager Davey Martinez said the match of Roark and Severino was a good one again.

"Outstanding. Him and Sevy worked really well together, which was really fun to watch," Martinez noted. "They really were on cue, and he pitched unbelievable. For me, it was just pounding the strike zone. We talk about that a lot. Not falling behind. Staying out of big innings. He did that really well."

Severino thought he was headed to Triple-A Syracuse Sunday until he got the call to head to Atlanta instead after Matt Wieters (mild oblique strain) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Severino started the game with an eye-opening single to leadoff the second.

"I thought he was really good," Martinez said. "I'm proud of him. He did a great job. My concern with him is not really his hitting, it's catching the way he did today. That was outstanding. If he can do that for us, that's what we want him to do. We want him to call a good game and catch like he did today."

Leading 2-0 thanks to an Anthony Rendon RBI grounder and a Howie Kendrick run-scoring double, Harper stepped to the plate in the second against a reeling lefty Sean Newcomb (0-1). He launched a three-run homer well over the center field fence for his third of the season, and the Nats led 5-0.

"When he stays in the middle of the field, he's dangerous," Martinez said of Harper. "I know he and (hitting coach) Kevin Long talk about that a lot. He's good. He's one of the best. I'm glad I get to watch him play every day, and hopefully he continues to do what he's doing."

Harper also walked four times, reaching base eight consecutive at-bats dating back to Sunday's game in Cincinnati. A first pitch grounder in the ninth ended the streak. Former Nats first baseman Nick Johnson owns the record of 10 straight at-bats reaching base from June of 2009.

In the eighth, making his first appearance of the year, Kelley retired the Braves in order.

"That was really good to see, that he came in the game and he threw strikes -- and his adrenaline is back," Martinez said. "It was nice to see. And his family was here, too. So that was good."

Kelley struck out catcher Chris Stewart looking to begin the eighth, induced a groundout to short, and then finished off the frame with a strikeout of Ender Inciarte. Matt Grace pitched a scoreless ninth himself, bouncing back from a rough outing against the Reds.

Montreal started 5-0 in 1972 and 4-0 in 1983.