Williams loses challenge on close play at first

WASHINGTON -- Nationals manager Matt Williams challenged an umpire's call in the first inning of Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Braves, but it ended up going in Atlanta's favor.

With one out and Braves left-hander Alex Wood on the mound, Ian Desmond hit a slow roller to third baseman Chris Johnson, who nipped Desmond at first. Desmond remained at the base, believing he was safe on the play.

"I felt like I was safe. I don't ever argue with the umpire," Desmond said. "But I was pretty [convinced] that I was safe on that one."

Williams talked to first-base umpire Marvin Hudson and challenged the call at first. After a review of two minutes and 15 seconds, the umpires ruled that the play would stand as called.

"He looked safe to me. Ian thought he was safe," Williams said. "[First-base coach] Tony [Tarasco] thought he was safe. So at that point [it would have been] bases loaded, potentially, there. That's potentially a huge inning for us. So I went out and challenged it. It didn't go our way, but you have to go for it."

Desmond ended up hitting the game-winning home run against Wood in the seventh inning.