Atlanta 8 WASHINGTON 5 (12 INNINGS) (CBS Sports Boxscore)

Braves Top Nationals in the 13th – The Post

Braves win late in series opener – The Wash. Times

A seventh inning lead turned into a 13th inning loss. Chad Cordero blew his ninth save and Jesus Colome lost for the first time this season. At least Ryan Zimmerman homered.

Wow, Thomas Boswell actually wrote a column about the Nationals (The Post) for a change.

John Patterson had surgery “to decompress the radial nerve in his right arm.” The club wants him pitching in winter ball this year. Also, Andrew Lefave is the player to be named later from the Ray King trade. Prior to being in the Brewers system, Lefave was MVP of the South Atlantic League.

Zimmerman, Ryan Church, Wily Mo Pena and Justin Maxwell will take batting practice on the gravel field (The Wash. Times) of the new ballpark this afternoon.