Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Stephen Strasburg tossed 7 1/3 solid
innings, Ryan Zimmerman knocked in two runs and the Washington Nationals beat
the Philadelphia Phillies by a 4-1 margin on Sunday.
Strasburg (1-1) allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven and
walking two for the Nationals, who took three of four in this series. Over his
first two starts of the season, Strasburg had been pounded for 19 hits and 11
runs — eight earned — over 10 2/3 innings.
“You work on things and you try to remember what the keys are — what are you
trying to do with the pitch, where you want to execute it,” Strasburg said.
“You try to paint that picture in your head. You go out there and let it go.”
Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth had one RBI apiece for Washington.
Freddy Galvis drove in the lone run for the Phillies, who went 1-6 on a seven-
game road trip. David Buchanan (0-3) gave up three runs on six hits with four
strikeouts and three walks over five innings.
“Buchanan did throw a lot of pitches early on,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg
said. “Little things didn’t go his way with the three runs. He showed some
improvement over his first two starts.”
Strasburg was perfect until giving up a two-out single to Carlos Ruiz in the
fifth. Cesar Hernandez walked before Ben Revere grounded out.
The Nationals broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom half. Denard
Span hit a two-out single and raced home on Desmond’s double down the left-
field line. Werth followed with an RBI single to center. After Bryce Harper
was intentionally walked, Zimmerman hit an RBI double to right in front of a
charging Jeff Francoeur.
Washington tacked on a run against Dustin McGowen in the seventh. Desmond
walked, moved to second on Werth’s groundout and raced home on Zimmerman’s
single to center.
The Phillies finally got on the board in the eighth. Odubel Herrera doubled
and crossed the plate on Galvis’ single. Matt Thornton took over for Strasburg
and got the final two outs of the inning.
Drew Storen pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Game Notes
The Nationals activated Span from the 15-day disabled list prior to Sunday’s
game … The Phillies went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and
stranded eight … Strasburg improved to 5-1 lifetime against Philadelphia …
The Nationals continue a seven-game homestand with three games against St.
Louis starting Tuesday … Philadelphia starts a six-game homestand with three
games against the Marlins beginning Tuesday.
