Instant analysis: Nats 3, Braves 2

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Denard Span slides into third base on one of his two triples tonight.

Game in a nutshell: The opener of a crucial series for the Nationals against a Braves team standing in its path in the NL East got off to what looked like a disastrous start from Washington's perspective. Stephen Strasburg was pulled after two innings with what a source familiar with the situation called a "muscular issue in his lower back." Strasburg clearly wasn't happy when told by manager Davey Johnson and pitching coach Steve McCatty he would be leaving the game,but the club decided not to take any chances. That put a tremendous strain on the Nationals bullpen, but Craig Stammen saved the day with four perfect innings in emergency relief of Strasburg. A pair of triples by Denard Span, a pair of sacrifice flies by Steve Lombardozzi and a manufactured runs in the bottom of the second gave the Nationals a 3-1 lead entering the seventh. Tyler Clippard made things very interesting when he allowed one run before loading the bases, only to strike out Dan Uggla and Chris Johnson to escape the jam. Drew Storen then pitched a scoreless eighth, setting the stage for Rafael Soriano to finish this off in the ninth. With that stress-filled victory, the Nationals climbed back over the .500 mark and drew to within 4 1/2 games of the Braves.

Hitting highlight: Too often, the Nationals have tried to generate offense with power. Tonight, they decided to manufacture their runs, and it worked. Span twice led off innings with triples, scoring moments later on Lombardozzi sacrifice flies to right field. The other run came when Roger Bernadina and Danny Espinosa each singled through the right-side hole and Kurt Suzuki beat out a potential double-play grounder, allowing Bernadina to score. It may not be pretty, and the chicks may not dig it, but for a struggling lineup that sometimes feels like it relies too much on the longball, this was a welcome change of pace.

Pitching highlight: While the Strasburg injury obviously took center stage, Stammen's job in emergency relief was nothing short of remarkable. Thrust into the game with little time to warm up or mentally prepare himself for the task at hand, the right-hander nonetheless took the mound and dominated the Braves' potent lineup. He faced 12 batters and retired every one of them. He struck out three, obviously didn't walk anybody and was highly efficient, needing only 49 pitches to complete four innings of relief. Stammen often goes unrecognized in the Nationals' bullpen because of his unglamorous role. But make no mistake, he is one of the most versatile (and valuable) pitchers in baseball and the Nationals certainly are thrilled to have him.

Key stat: In five career starts at Turner Field, Strasburg now has a 5.24 ERA. He's averaged only slightly more than four innings per start here.

Up next: The series continues at 7:15 p.m. Saturday night when Gio Gonzalez faces Tim Hudson on Fox.