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Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Murphy Shine In Win Over D-backs

By Chris Lacey

Aug 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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A strong pitching performance and an onslaught of runs resulted in a series-opening blowout victory for the Washington Nationals.

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was dominant over the course of six innings and the offense put on a hitting clinic. They pounded out 19 hits and went 10-for-18 with runners in scoring position to win by a score of 14-1.

Anthony Rendon hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to give the Nats a 1-0 lead. Later in the opening frame, Wilson Ramos, Clint Robinson and Danny Espinosa had consecutive RBI singles to extend the lead to 4-0.

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Paul Goldschmidt helped the Diamondbacks respond in the bottom of the first, hitting an RBI groundout to score Jean Segura from third.

In the next inning, Rendon smoked a double to left field to plate two more runs, increasing the Nationals’ lead to 6-1. Rendon ended the contest with two hits and three RBIs.

Two innings later, Ramos and Strasburg each had RBI singles to make the lead 8-1. Ramos tallied three hits and also had two RBIs.

Archie Bradley had a disastrous time on the mound in tonight’s start.

He surrendered a season-high eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits with two walks and one strikeout in a season-low 3 1/3 innings on 93 pitches (57 strikes). The right-hander suffered his seventh loss of the season.

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    • Bradley was rocked early in the start and never looked composed on the mound.

    Daniel Murphy lined his 32nd double in the fifth inning to stretch Washington’s lead to 9-1. He finished the game with three hits and three runs scored.

    Stephen Strasburg was phenomenal in this outing. He tossed six innings, allowed one run, yielded three hits, issued two walks and fanned six batters on 99 pitches (66 strikes) in earning his 15th win of the season.

    Strasburg also went 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI.

    Jonathan Papelbon entered the seventh to relieve Strasburg and threw a scoreless inning.

    Wilmer Difo pinch-hit for Papelbon in the eighth inning and with the bases loaded laced a double to center field, which extended the lead to 11-1. Then, Trea Turner followed up with a two-run triple to make it 13-1.

    Chris Heisey added a sacrifice fly to give his club a commanding 14-1 cushion.

    Yusmeiro Petit tossed up a zero in the eighth frame, and Mark Melancon, who made his Nats debut, did the same in the ninth to finish off a dominant win.

    Next Game: The Washington Nationals (62-44) will have Tanner Roark (10-6, 2.96 ERA) on the mound in the second game of the series tomorrow. Robbie Ray (5-10, 4.70 ERA) will be on the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks (43-63).

    You can watch the game at 9:40 p.m. ET on MASN2.

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