Strasburg sparkles on mound and plate

Stephen Strasburg (12-5) has become a master at rebounding from a mediocre start. He has only had five total starts in which he has allowed four or more earned runs. He has posted a 0.90 ERA in starts afterwards. Today was no different.

After allowing 6 runs in 4 innings on July 31 against the Phillies, Strasburg came out and threw 6 shutout innings against the Miami Marlins today to lead the Nationals to a 4-1 win. Strasburg allowed just 3 hits and fanned 6 Marlins on the way to his 12th victory of the season. That wasn't it. Strasburg also delivered at the plate, singling in two runs in the second innings to give the Nationals an early 2-0 lead. Strasburg now has 7 RBI in 35 at bats and is batting an impressive .343 on the season. Adam LaRoche followed that up by singling in Strasburg and Steve Lombardozzi to give the Nationals a 4-0 lead in the second inning. Those two RBI gave LaRoche 71 on the season, 6th overall in the National League. Drew Storen closed out the Marlins for his first save of the season.

Bryce Harper and LaRoche each collected two hits apiece. LaRoche is now 10 for 20 over his last 5 games and has had a multi-hit games in four of those five. Harper is 6 for 21 over his last five games.

The win over the Marlins gave the Nats a 3-1 series win and improved the club to 65-43 overall. The Nationals now move on to a 4 games series in Houston.