Brad Lidge, Washington Nationals Close out Chicago Cubs for Opening Day Win

Opening Day is upon us, Washington Nationals fans.

The Nationals traveled to Chicago today to take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

With Stephen Strasburg on the bump, many were confident in the Nationals' chances at bringing home a victory on Opening Day.

Not so fast.

Ryan Dempster performed admirably, striking out 10 through 7 2/3 innings of work. He gave way to Kerry Wood with a runner on first, and Wood was not able to hold the Cubs' 1-0 lead.

Wood walked the next three batters, allowing a run to score to tie the game at one.

Tyler Clippard came on in the eighth following Strasburg's seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball. He got into a little trouble, but came out of the inning unscathed. 

In the top of the ninth, Carlos Marmol came on to keep the game tied. He was not able to do so.

Chad Tracy, who pinch hit for Adam LaRoche earlier in the game, hit a long fly ball to right field. Right fielder David DeJesus was unable to track it down, as the ball hit off the ivy of Wrigley. Tracy rumbled into second for a double.

Later on in the inning, Ian Desmond hit a fantastic slider from Marmol the other way for a base hit. Pinch runner Brett Carroll raced around third to score the go-ahead run.

With the Nationals leading 2-1, Drew Storen's replacement Brad Lidge came on to close it out.

With one out, Ian Stewart drove a ball to very deep right field. The ball bounced off the warning track when Jayson Werth was unable to make the catch, and Stewart raced into third with a triple.

On the ensuing play, Jeff Baker hit a hard ground ball to Ryan Zimmerman at third. 

Running on contact, Stewart ran home but was gunned down by Zimmerman. Catcher Wilson Ramos made the easy tag.

Now, with just a runner on first, Lidge settled in to face Marlon Byrd.

Byrd, who was 1-3 at that point with an RBI, was unable to solve Lidge. He struck out to end the game.

Although Strasburg did not earn the win, he did well to keep the Nationals in the game. Dempster kept throwing up zeros, and Strasburg was unfazed by his team's inability to push runs across the plate.

The Nationals' next game will take place on Saturday at 1:05 at Wrigley Field in Game 2 of the three game series.