WASHINGTON — Coming off major knee surgery, and coming up on his 39th birthday, Chipper Jones came back to baseball in a big way.

At the plate in a real game for the first time since August, the Atlanta Braves third baseman doubled for the first hit by anyone in the 2011 season. He legged it out, even, beating a throw from new Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth.

“I was busting it out of the box,” Jones said. “Didn’t necessarily want to slide, but I had to.”

He went on to score the season’s first run, Jason Heyward added a solo shot, and Derek Lowe allowed three singles in 5 2-3 innings on a chilly, damp opening day, helping the Braves beat the Nationals 2-0 Thursday to make Fredi Gonzalez a winner in his debut as Atlanta’s manager.

The Braves played their first regular-season game since Bobby Cox retired at the end of 2010 after two decades — and 15 playoff appearances — as their skipper.

Welcome back, Chipper. Nice way to start, Fredi.

“It doesn’t feel any different. A win’s a win,” said Gonzalez, who previously managed the Florida Marlins. “I’m wearing this uniform and, hopefully, I’m wearing it for a long time and get a lot of wins.”

As he spoke, a 2002 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne rested in a box on the desk in the visiting manager’s office — a bubbly gift from Atlanta’s trainers.

“I didn’t know they made that much money,” Gonzalez said with a chuckle.

It was easy to smile, thanks to the way his club played. And one season after the Year of the Pitcher — a pair of perfect games 20 days apart, four other no-hitters — things got started with a shutout.

With his sinker in fine, darting form, Lowe (1-0) struck out six and walked two.

“Probably the best I’ve seen him pitch in a long time,” said Werth, the $126 million man who went 1 for 4 and made two diving catches in his first home game at Nationals Park. “His ball was sharp.”

Ryan Zimmerman’s take on Lowe: “He was him. You know what you’re going to get from him, and we got it.”

The 37-year-old Lowe struck out the side in the third, including Zimmerman looking to end the inning. Zimmerman argued some with umpire Tim Welke while walking away; he tossed his bat, helmet and batting gloves on the ground, then yanked out his gum and chucked that, too.

Lowe needed plenty of pitches, 105, and left after walking Zimmerman in the sixth. Adam LaRoche followed by singling off lefty Eric O’Flaherty, who got out of it by getting Michael Morse to ground out.

“There was a lot of trying to figure each other out. I couldn’t go after them the same exact way I did last time, because with technology you can figure each other out,” Lowe said. “It was a cat-and-mouse game. That’s probably why I threw so many pitches in a short amount of time.”

Four relievers got the last 10 outs. Craig Kimbrel worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, his second in the majors.

Lowe’s only spot of trouble, really, came in the first, when Werth and Zimmerman singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. But LaRoche, a free agent brought in to take over for the departed Adam Dunn at first base, popped out to second, and Morse, who earned the left-field job vacated by the traded Josh Willingham, grounded out.

“Lowe really locked down,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

With two outs in the first, 1999 NL MVP Jones doubled to right on a 3-2 pitch in his first at-bat in a regular-season game since tearing up his left knee Aug. 10. He also singled in the ninth. McCann drove home Jones by grounding a single up the middle off Livan Hernandez (0-1) in the first, and Heyward led off the second with a homer.

Heyward also homered in Game 1 a year ago, in his first major league at-bat. According to STATS and the SABR Home Run Log, he’s only the second player in major league history to homer in his first at-bat of his team’s opening day game as a rookie and again the following year. The other was Kazuo Matsui with the New York Mets in 2004 and 2005.

The Nationals were without their most prized young player, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who flew back to Florida on Thursday to continue rehabilitation from reconstructive elbow surgery that is expected to sideline him for most of 2011.

In front of a non-sellout crowd of 39,055, neither starting pitcher was bothered one bit by the cold — it was 41 degrees when Hernandez threw a called strike to Martin Prado for the first pitch at 1:11 p.m. — or by the misty drizzle that came and went.

“I couldn’t really feel my toes,” Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard said.

After giving up Heyward’s homer on a hanging slider, Hernandez retired 16 of 17 batters the rest of the way, including 15 in a row. Making his ninth opening day start, Hernandez allowed four hits in 6 2-3 innings.

“Both clubs pitched good,” Riggleman said, “but they were a little better than us today.”

NOTES: Gonzalez got a good-luck phone call from Cox on Thursday morning. His debut as a major league manager also came against the Nationals, a 9-2 Marlins victory at RFK Stadium in 2007. … After Friday’s day off, the series resumes Saturday, with Atlanta RHP Tommy Hanson facing Washington LHP John Lannan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming off major knee surgery, and coming up on his 39th birthday, Chipper Jones came back to baseball in a big way.

At the plate in a real game for the first time since August, the Atlanta Braves third baseman doubled for the first hit by anyone in the 2011 season. He legged it out, even, beating a throw from new Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth.

“I was busting it out of the box,” Jones said. “Didn’t necessarily want to slide, but I had to.”

He went on to score the season’s first run, Jason Heyward added a solo shot, and Derek Lowe allowed three singles in 5 2-3 innings on a chilly, damp opening day, helping the Braves beat the Nationals 2-0 Thursday to make Fredi Gonzalez a winner in his debut as Atlanta’s manager.

The Braves played their first regular-season game since Bobby Cox retired at the end of 2010 after two decades — and 15 playoff appearances — as their skipper.

Welcome back, Chipper. Nice way to start, Fredi.

“It doesn’t feel any different. A win’s a win,” said Gonzalez, who previously managed the Florida Marlins. “I’m wearing this uniform and, hopefully, I’m wearing it for a long time and get a lot of wins.”

As he spoke, a 2002 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne rested in a box on the desk in the visiting manager’s office — a bubbly gift from Atlanta’s trainers.

“I didn’t know they made that much money,” Gonzalez said with a chuckle.

It was easy to smile, thanks to the way his club played. And one season after the Year of the Pitcher — a pair of perfect games 20 days apart, four other no-hitters — things got started with a shutout.

With his sinker in fine, darting form, Lowe (1-0) struck out six and walked two.

“Probably the best I’ve seen him pitch in a long time,” said Werth, the $126 million man who went 1 for 4 and made two diving catches in his first home game at Nationals Park. “His ball was sharp.”

Ryan Zimmerman’s take on Lowe: “He was him. You know what you’re going to get from him, and we got it.”

The 37-year-old Lowe struck out the side in the third, including Zimmerman looking to end the inning. Zimmerman argued some with umpire Tim Welke while walking away; he tossed his bat, helmet and batting gloves on the ground, then yanked out his gum and chucked that, too.

Lowe needed plenty of pitches, 105, and left after walking Zimmerman in the sixth. Adam LaRoche followed by singling off lefty Eric O’Flaherty, who got out of it by getting Michael Morse to ground out.

“There was a lot of trying to figure each other out. I couldn’t go after them the same exact way I did last time, because with technology you can figure each other out,” Lowe said. “It was a cat-and-mouse game. That’s probably why I threw so many pitches in a short amount of time.”

Four relievers got the last 10 outs. Craig Kimbrel worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, his second in the majors.

Lowe’s only spot of trouble, really, came in the first, when Werth and Zimmerman singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. But LaRoche, a free agent brought in to take over for the departed Adam Dunn at first base, popped out to second, and Morse, who earned the left-field job vacated by the traded Josh Willingham, grounded out.

“Lowe really locked down,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

With two outs in the first, 1999 NL MVP Jones doubled to right on a 3-2 pitch in his first at-bat in a regular-season game since tearing up his left knee Aug. 10. He also singled in the ninth. McCann drove home Jones by grounding a single up the middle off Livan Hernandez (0-1) in the first, and Heyward led off the second with a homer.

Heyward also homered in Game 1 a year ago, in his first major league at-bat. According to STATS and the SABR Home Run Log, he’s only the second player in major league history to homer in his first at-bat of his team’s opening day game as a rookie and again the following year. The other was Kazuo Matsui with the New York Mets in 2004 and 2005.

The Nationals were without their most prized young player, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who flew back to Florida on Thursday to continue rehabilitation from reconstructive elbow surgery that is expected to sideline him for most of 2011.

In front of a non-sellout crowd of 39,055, neither starting pitcher was bothered one bit by the cold — it was 41 degrees when Hernandez threw a called strike to Martin Prado for the first pitch at 1:11 p.m. — or by the misty drizzle that came and went.

“I couldn’t really feel my toes,” Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard said.

After giving up Heyward’s homer on a hanging slider, Hernandez retired 16 of 17 batters the rest of the way, including 15 in a row. Making his ninth opening day start, Hernandez allowed four hits in 6 2-3 innings.

“Both clubs pitched good,” Riggleman said, “but they were a little better than us today.”

NOTES: Gonzalez got a good-luck phone call from Cox on Thursday morning. His debut as a major league manager also came against the Nationals, a 9-2 Marlins victory at RFK Stadium in 2007. … After Friday’s day off, the series resumes Saturday, with Atlanta RHP Tommy Hanson facing Washington LHP John Lannan.

WASHINGTON — Coming off major knee surgery, and coming up on his 39th birthday, Chipper Jones came back to baseball in a big way.

At the plate in a real game for the first time since August, the Atlanta Braves third baseman doubled for the first hit by anyone in the 2011 season. He legged it out, even, beating a throw from new Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth.

“I was busting it out of the box,” Jones said. “Didn’t necessarily want to slide, but I had to.”

He went on to score the season’s first run, Jason Heyward added a solo shot, and Derek Lowe allowed three singles in 5 2-3 innings on a chilly, damp opening day, helping the Braves beat the Nationals 2-0 Thursday to make Fredi Gonzalez a winner in his debut as Atlanta’s manager.

The Braves played their first regular-season game since Bobby Cox retired at the end of 2010 after two decades – and 15 playoff appearances – as their skipper.

Welcome back, Chipper. Nice way to start, Fredi.

“It doesn’t feel any different. A win’s a win,” said Gonzalez, who previously managed the Florida Marlins. “I’m wearing this uniform and, hopefully, I’m wearing it for a long time and get a lot of wins.”

As he spoke, a 2002 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne rested in a box on the desk in the visiting manager’s office – a bubbly gift from Atlanta’s trainers.

“I didn’t know they made that much money,” Gonzalez said with a chuckle.

It was easy to smile, thanks to the way his club played. And one season after the Year of the Pitcher – a pair of perfect games 20 days apart, four other no-hitters – things got started with a shutout.

With his sinker in fine, darting form, Lowe (1-0) struck out six and walked two.

“Probably the best I’ve seen him pitch in a long time,” said Werth, the $126 million man who went 1 for 4 and made two diving catches in his first home game at Nationals Park. “His ball was sharp.”

Ryan Zimmerman’s take on Lowe: “He was him. You know what you’re going to get from him, and we got it.”

The 37-year-old Lowe struck out the side in the third, including Zimmerman looking to end the inning. Zimmerman argued some with umpire Tim Welke while walking away; he tossed his bat, helmet and batting gloves on the ground, then yanked out his gum and chucked that, too.

Lowe needed plenty of pitches, 105, and left after walking Zimmerman in the sixth. Adam LaRoche followed by singling off lefty Eric O’Flaherty, who got out of it by getting Michael Morse to ground out.

“There was a lot of trying to figure each other out. I couldn’t go after them the same exact way I did last time, because with technology you can figure each other out,” Lowe said. “It was a cat-and-mouse game. That’s probably why I threw so many pitches in a short amount of time.”

Four relievers got the last 10 outs. Craig Kimbrel worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, his second in the majors.

Lowe’s only spot of trouble, really, came in the first, when Werth and Zimmerman singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. But LaRoche, a free agent brought in to take over for the departed Adam Dunn at first base, popped out to second, and Morse, who earned the left-field job vacated by the traded Josh Willingham, grounded out.

“Lowe really locked down,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

With two outs in the first, 1999 NL MVP Jones doubled to right on a 3-2 pitch in his first at-bat in a regular-season game since tearing up his left knee Aug. 10. He also singled in the ninth. McCann drove home Jones by grounding a single up the middle off Livan Hernandez (0-1) in the first, and Heyward led off the second with a homer.

Heyward also homered in Game 1 a year ago, in his first major league at-bat. According to STATS and the SABR Home Run Log, he’s only the second player in major league history to homer in his first at-bat of his team’s opening day game as a rookie and again the following year. The other was Kazuo Matsui with the New York Mets in 2004 and 2005.

The Nationals were without their most prized young player, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who flew back to Florida on Thursday to continue rehabilitation from reconstructive elbow surgery that is expected to sideline him for most of 2011.

In front of a non-sellout crowd of 39,055, neither starting pitcher was bothered one bit by the cold – it was 41 degrees when Hernandez threw a called strike to Martin Prado for the first pitch at 1:11 p.m. – or by the misty drizzle that came and went.

“I couldn’t really feel my toes,” Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard said.

After giving up Heyward’s homer on a hanging slider, Hernandez retired 16 of 17 batters the rest of the way, including 15 in a row. Making his ninth opening day start, Hernandez allowed four hits in 6 2-3 innings.

“Both clubs pitched good,” Riggleman said, “but they were a little better than us today.”

NOTES: Gonzalez got a good-luck phone call from Cox on Thursday morning. His debut as a major league manager also came against the Nationals, a 9-2 Marlins victory at RFK Stadium in 2007. … After Friday’s day off, the series resumes Saturday, with Atlanta RHP Tommy Hanson facing Washington LHP John Lannan.

Read More: Nate McLouth (CF – ATL), Adam LaRoche (1B – WAS), Todd Coffey (P – WAS), Ryan Zimmerman (3B – WAS), Livan Hernandez (P – WAS), Derek Lowe (P – ATL), Chipper Jones (3B – ATL), Peter Moylan (P – ATL), Brian McCann (C – ATL), Martin Prado (LF – ATL), John Lannan (P – WAS), Rick Ankiel (CF – WAS), Sean Burnett (P – WAS), Jason Heyward (RF – ATL), Tommy Hanson (P – ATL), Jonny Venters (P – ATL), Craig Kimbrel (P – ATL), Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves

The Braves took advantage of early hits by scoring two quick runs, which proved to be all they needed. The pitching staff combined to shut out the Nationals, winning 2-0 on Opening Day.

Braves starter Derek Lowe pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six. The three hits were singles in the first two innings, and he didn’t allow a hit after the second. Following a few command issues and a walk of Ryan Zimmerman with two outs in the sixth, Fredi Gonzalez made the correct move of pulling him in favor of Eric O’Flaherty against a left-hander.

Lowe’s slider was used effectively, throwing it early in the count and recording two strikeouts on it. The sinker was sharp and diving hard. Even the changeup was used effectively in spots, including one strikeout of Adam LaRoche on a 3-2 count. Lowe’s stuff was on.

The Braves scored two quick runs in the first and second. Chipper Jones doubled with two outs in the first, followed by a Brian McCann single that scored him. Jason Heyward homered in the second inning on a high curve that put them ahead by two, where it remained.

The Braves had just two hits following the first two innings, both on singles by Jones and McCann. The only other baserunner was a walk by Heyward.

Jones went 2-4 with a double, McCann went 2-4 with a RBI and Heyward went 1-2 with a home run, RBI and walk. The rest of the team went hitless, including the combination of Martin Prado and Nate McLouth at 0-8 at the top of the order.

Nationals starter Livan Hernandez allowed two runs on four hits in 6.1 innings, walking none and striking out three. Todd Coffey and Sean Burnett combined for two scoreless innings behind him.

Behind Lowe, Eric O’Flaherty gave up two hits but received three outs between the sixth and seventh. Peter Moylan received the final out in the seventh on a strikeout with a runner on third. Jonny Venters pitched a scoreless eighth on seven pitches. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth on two strikeouts of Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel.

After an off day, the Braves return to action Saturday against the Nationals at 1:05. Tommy Hanson faces John Lannan.

Derek Lowe was pulled with two outs in the sixth after throwing 105 pitches. Lowe’s final line was 5.2 innings, three hits, no runs, two walks and six strikeouts.

Lowe didn’t allow a hit after the second inning and allowed just two baseunners on walks. The pitch count ran up due to the six strikeouts, as well as several full counts. He struck out the side in the third against Desmond, Werth and Zimmerman. Lowe used the slider often and well in his first start of 2011, picking up two of the strikeouts on the pitch.

The move to pull Lowe was the correct one for new manager Fredi Gonzalez. Lowe was working past 100 pitches, was struggling with command in the sixth and was in the third time through the order.

The Braves continue to sit at 2-0 after six and a half innings. Nationals starter Livan Hernandez was pulled in the seventh at 77 pitches, allowing two runs on four hits in 6.1 innings, no walks and three strikeouts. Hernandez did not allow a baserunner from the third through the sixth, but a leadoff single by Brian McCann helped lead to the pitching change.

With a runner on first and one out in the seventh, lefty Doug Slaten was called on to face Jason Heyward, but he walked to put two on. Tyler Clippard replaced him to face Alex Gonzalez, who struck out. Freddie Freeman followed with a flyout to end the threat.

For more on the series, Braves fans should visit Talking Chop, and Nationals fans should visit Federal Baseball.

The Braves jumped to an early lead on Opening Day, holding a 2-0 advantage over the Nationals after three innings.

The big shot so far came in the second inning on a solo home run by Jason Heyward, his second consecutive Opening Day homer. Nationals starter Livan Hernandez left a curveball letter high on the fourth pitch of the at bat, and Heyward was able to get on top of it and drive it in the first row in right field.

The first Braves run came in the first inning when Chipper Jones doubled down the right field line, hustling to beat a throw from right fielder Jayson Werth. That was followed by a single from Brian McCann that scooted past second baseman Danny Espinosa to bring home Jones. All of this was with two outs to get the Braves rolling early.

Hernandez is at 43 pitches through three innings, allowing the three hits and two runs, no walks and one strikeout. He is receiving the usual Livan calls on the outer half, evident by a Nate McLouth strikeout in the third inning.

Derek Lowe has given up three hits and one scary flyout. The Nationals reached scoring position in the first two innings. The first was back-to-back singles by Werth and Ryan Zimmerman, but Lowe bared down and got two solid outs. Espinosa singled in the second and reached second on a groundout, but he was left there.

Lowe settled in and struck out the side in the third, consisting of Desmond, Werth and Zimmerman. His stuff looks really good, and he seems to be settling in.

For more on the series, Braves fans should visit Talking Chop, and Nationals fans should visit Federal Baseball.