Nationals 10, Brewers 4
Gio Gonzalez became the majors' first 20-game winner after tossing seven superb innings and Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond belted three-run homers as host Washington snapped Milwaukee's season-best six-game winning streak.
Adam LaRoche homered for the second straight contest and joined Desmond with three hits for the Nationals, who posted just their third win in eight outings to maintain their lead in the NL East at 5 1/2 games over Atlanta. The Braves posted an 8-2 triumph Philadelphia later on Saturday.
Taylor Green launched a two-run homer in the ninth inning for the Brewers, who suffered their seventh loss in 31 contests. Milwaukee fell 2 1/2 games in back of St. Louis in the race for the second wild card after the Cardinals posted a 5-4 triumph in 10 innings over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
The early offensive power display was more than enough for Gonzalez (20-8), who breezed into the sixth inning before the Brewers scratched for a pair of runs. The left-hander finished the seventh after allowing two runs on three hits while striking out five.
After scattering two hits over eight innings in his last outing, rookie Wily Peralta (2-1) struggled with his control en route to an early exit. Peralta yielded three runs on five hits and walked four before departing after 2 2/3 innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gonzalez, who has 201 strikeouts, became the first Washington-based pitcher to fan over 200 since Walter Johnson had 228 in 1916. ... LaRoche extended his personal hitting streak versus Milwaukee to 12 games with a two-out RBI double in the third inning. His homer was the fifth during the streak. ... Milwaukee OF Norichika Aoki also increased his hitting streak to 12 games after leading off the sixth inning with a ground-rule double.