LaRoche's homer in the 15th lifts Nats over Braves
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Adam LaRoche held his signature helicopter finish just a half second longer than usual.
LaRoche smacked a go-ahead leadoff homer in the top of the 15th inning to lift the Washington Nationals to an 8-7 win over the Atlanta Braves in the middle test of a three-game set.
Kris Medlen (10-11) had spun two innings of shutout ball before LaRoche golfed a 1-2 curveball into the seats in right field.
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Jason Heyward cracked a two-out game-tying, two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth, his second homer of the tilt, to send the contest into extras where Craig Stammen (6-5) fired three scoreless innings of no-hit ball to earn the win.
Dan Haren worked a scoreless 15th inning to notch his first career save and snap Washington's six-game slide against the Braves.
"Just a full team effort. We used up everybody we had, plus one of our starters coming out and closing the game so pretty awesome," LaRoche said.
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Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg was ejected in the second inning for throwing at Andrelton Simmons.
The Nationals led 4-1 before Strasburg walked Jordan Schafer to begin the second. Schafer then scored after Strasburg fired three consecutive wild pitches.
Strasburg first spun a curveball into the dirt before tossing two straight fastballs that whizzed by the lower back of Simmons. The second fastball resulted in Strasburg's ejection.
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Strasburg had a 5.79 ERA and lasted just an average of 3 2/3 innings per start in Atlanta heading into the tilt.
Ryan Zimmerman belted a solo homer in the triumph.
Brian McCann had a two-run blast and Freddie Freeman hit a solo shot for Atlanta, which had won 18 of its last 20 games coming in.
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"They were a lot more patient tonight," Braves starter Mike Minor said of the Nationals' hitters.
The Nats struck quickly in the opening frame as Wilson Ramos' two-run single made it 2-0.
Heyward led off the home first with a blast over the wall in right-center, but a two-run single by Werth in the second gave Washington its 4-1 spread.
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Tyler Roark, who tossed four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Strasburg, stroked an RBI double in the fifth and Ian Desmond's RBI single in the sixth gave Washington a 6-2 advantage before McCann's two-run shot in the home sixth trimmed the deficit to 6-4.
Zimmerman and Freeman traded solo homers in the eighth, which made the score 7-5.
Game Notes
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Minor surrendered four runs on four hits and four walks over 1 2/3 innings ... The Nationals were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Atlanta finished 0-for-7 with RISP.