Braves 2, Nationals 0
Derek Lowe won his third consecutive opening day assignment on Thursday, pitching Atlanta to a 2-0 win over Washington at Nationals Park.
Lowe (1-0) allowed only three hits and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings before giving way to a series of relief pitchers. Rookie Craig Kimbrel earned the save by striking out two in the ninth. The tough-luck loser was Livan Hernandez (0-1), who gave up just two runs and four hits and at one point retired 15 consecutive batters.
The Braves struck for single runs in the first and second innings. Chipper Jones doubled in the first and scored on Brian McCann's single up the middle. Jason Heyward added a solo homer in the second inning on a low line drive that landed in the first row of the right field seats, the second straight year he's hit a home run on his first at-bat of the season.