WASHINGTON (AP) a All it took was two at-bats on his first opening day in the majors for Bryce Harper going to two homers a and hear some "M-V-P!" chants. The Washington Nationals' other recent No. 1 overall draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, did his part, also, finding 19 consecutive outs at one stretch of his eight scoreless innings. Yes, for the NL East champ Nationals a' and their supporters who lived through some a down economy not too long ago a' the present and future could hardly have looked happier in a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Monday, Game 1 of a season lame-duck manager Davey Johnson reported weeks ago should be defined as "World Series or bust." "You couldn't bring it up any better," Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "And to have the two youths get out, do what they did? ... Allow Harper and Stras go to work. They didn't need us." Solo shots were hit by Harper, the 20-year-old left fielder coming off NL Rookie of the Year honors, within the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center area off Ricky Nolasco in the first and fourth innings. Both times were sprinted around the bases by him, and after his second journey, he climbed straight back from the dugout for a curtain call, working his right fist. Your head is just shaken by "you in surprise. You don't see that too often from anybody, time. But to see him as a 20-year-old? He's just writing a right now," new Nationals middle fielder Denard Span said. "And he does it so peaceful, too." It absolutely was Harper's first style of a start in the major leagues; he began this past year in the children before receiving called up later in April. "Pretty unique moment," Harper said. "If I was 0 for 4, or 4 for 4, it'd not need mattered in my experience. Just going out there having some fun on opening day for the first time." He is nothing if not modern, and Johnson joked afterward that Harper's dugout high-fives after homer No. 1 really hurt some arms. "I am glad he cut it down on the 2nd one," Johnson said, grinning. "I was still stinging from the first one. I believe plenty of people were." For the 24-year-old Strasburg (1-0), this marked the beginning of what must certanly be his first full year in the majors, with zero frequency or inning limitations. Shut down ahead of the stretch run in September in 2012, he was prominent against a trade-depleted Marlins selection that features Giancarlo Stanton and little else. The right-hander went seven innings, corresponding his career high, allowing three strikes. Questioned if he could have pitched longer, Strasburg said: "If it was not opening day and the initial start of the year, it'd have been another story." Pitching to contact significantly more than before, Strasburg had three strikeouts, zero walks a and needed only 80 pitches. "I looked up in the sixth inning and he'd, like, 65 pitches. I was like, 'Wow.' A long way have been come by him. In the beginning in his career, you look up in the sixth inning, and he's near 100 pitches," teammate Ian Desmond said. "If he wants to function as workhorse that he is, he is likely to need certainly to pitch more activities like this." Harper and Strasburg are just the 2nd couple of top picks in baseball's June amateur draft to start an game for the group that selected them, and the 100-loss months in 2008 and 2009 that gave Washington the proper to those selections seem very remote today. "It is remarkable how much this club's gone since I have was playing against 'em years ago and we'd come right into Washington and it was awful," LaRoche said. "It was a poor ballpark. It absolutely was a poor club." Before the game, the Nationals celebrated their 98-win 2012 by unveiling an indicator atop the outfield scoreboard that claims them "NL East Division Champions." A regular-season Nationals Park-record group of 45,274 was rowdy all afternoon. "They really were noisy and crazy," Harper said. "Hopefully they are likely to end up like that most year." They gave a ovation to Harper in the sixth inning before his third at-bat against Nolasco (0-1). Harper squared up to bunt, going for a ball, and wound up with a flyout to left, actually volatile. A curveball was hit by him for his first homer, a slider for his second. "Did not make the very best pitches to him, and he did not miss 'em. That is what hitters do," explained Nolasco, who threw in the towel three hits in six innings. Juan Pierre brought off the overall game by singling to center off Strasburg, and that has been most of the Marlins could muster until the seventh. That is when Stanton a who else, on a group with a payroll under $45 million? a doubled to left, closing the talent of 19 plate appearances, 19 outs for Miami. Placido Polanco used with an infield single, putting runners on the corners. The next batter, Rob Brantly, hit a to Harper in remaining. Home was thrown by harper, but Stanton did not go. Alternatively, Polanco strayed off first foundation, and wound up getting caught in an explanation. Fundamentally, Stanton did make an effort to score, but he was dumped for an odd-as-can-be double play technically obtained 7-2-3-4-2. "He just got caught in no man's land there. That happens," Marlins novice manager Mike Redmond said. "We gave them a supplementary out there." Johnson looked to his bullpen, considered a strength of the team a year ago until wasting a lead in the ninth inning from the Cardinals in Game 5, with some sprinkles slipping. Tyler Clippard threw the eighth Monday, and closer Rafael Soriano, a free of charge agent from the Yankees, offered an ideal ninth, striking out Stanton to get rid of it. Soriano recognized by untucking his jacket, drawing roars from the spectators wanting to observe that over and over again in 2013. "The way it is changed in a quick five or six years, the prospect for this team," next baseman Ryan Zimmerman said, "it's fascinating for most of us." NOTES: The biggest crowd in Nationals Park record was the 45,966 for the final playoff game against St. Louis in October. ... In Harper's fourth at-bat, Marlins 1B Casey Kotchman leaned over a dugout railing to produce a wonderful catch of a strong pop. And Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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