Nationals put up 10 in win vs. Cardinals
WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg remained unbeaten as he allowed one run in six innings and Wilson Ramos had three hits and four RBIs as the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-2 Sunday, earning a split of the four-game series.
Jayson Werth helped put the game out of reach with a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh off Dean Kiekhefer to give the Nationals (30-21) an 8-2 lead. It was his first career pinch-hit grand slam and sixth career slam overall. Ramos hit a two-run homer in the ninth to make it 10-2 off Tyler Lyons.
Strasburg (9-0), now tied for the league lead in wins, gave up six hits and two walks with four strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 2.69. Washington has won every game he has started this year. Oliver Perez, Blake Treinen, Felipe Rivero, Shawn Kelley and Jonathan Papelbon combined to get the last nine outs for the Nationals.
Losing pitcher Michael Wacha (2-6) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings before he came on in the seventh. Wacha didn't allow a hit in the first three innings before Washington scored three runs in the fourth.
Bryce Harper had an RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1. His hit scored Michael A. Taylor, who led off the frame with a double. Ryan Zimmerman had a double with one out and Ramos drove in Taylor and Zimmerman with a two-out single to make it 3-1.
Matt Adams of St. Louis had a sacrifice fly in the seventh off Rivero to cut the margin to 3-2. But Anthony Rendon, who also had two hits, then led off the last of the seventh with a homer on the first pitch from Jonathan Broxton to make it 4-2, and Werth came through later in the frame.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a solo homer by Brandon Moss (two hits), who went deep for the ninth time this year. It was just the sixth homer allowed this season by Strasburg.
Strasburg got out of danger in the sixth when a single by Jedd Gyorko (two hits) bounced off the third base bag and bounced over Rendon, the third baseman. That put runners on first and second with two outs, but Strasburg retired Eric Fryer on a popup to end the inning.
Matt Holliday had three hits for the Cardinals (26-25), who start a series on Monday in Milwaukee.
NOTES: Washington RF Bryce Harper received the Players Choice Award as a 2015 National League Outstanding Player in a pre-game ceremony. ... Cardinals 1B Matt Adams (.327, 23 RBIs) was in the starting lineup for the first time since Thursday, when he left in the fifth inning with back problems. He did not play Friday, and then Saturday had a two-run, pinch-hit double in a 9-4 win. ... Washington 2B Daniel Murphy began the day with 41 hits in May, the most in franchise history (2005 to present) in one month. The old mark belonged to OF Denard Span, who had 40 in August 2014. ... Washington RHP Tanner Roark (3-4, 3.71 ERA) will start on Monday at Philadelphia against Phillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 3.97 ERA). ... The Cardinals head to Milwaukee and will face the Brewers and RHP Junior Guerra (3-0, 3.30) on Monday. RHP Carlos Martinez (4-5, 4.25 ERA) will start for St. Louis and try to snap a five-game losing skid. ... The Nationals were 14-0 in the last 14 starts for RHP Stephen Strasburg, the Sunday starter, dating back to Sept. 15, 2015.