Phillies 8, Nationals 1
WASHINGTON -- First baseman Ryan Howard and three hits and two runs batted in, and left-hander Cole Hamels won his fourth straight start as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the error-prone Washington Nationals, 8-1, on Saturday.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Nationals, who had also won their last seven games at home. Washington made four errors, but it was the 11-hit attack of the Phillies that spoiled a beautiful afternoon for a sellout crowd of 41,722 fans.
Howard had a single in the second, an RBI double in the third and long solo home run to lead off the fifth to give the Phillies a 7-0 lead.
Third baseman Maikel Franco, called up from Triple-A on May 15, had two hits, including a two-run home run in the third against struggling Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (3-5).
Hamels (5-3) beat the Nationals for the first time in seven starts as he allowed only five hits and one run in eight innings. Hamels had lost his last three games in Washington, but is 11-0 in 17 starts since 2014 when the Phillies score at least three runs when he is in the game.
His bid for his seventh career shutout ended with an RBI double in the eighth by shortstop Ian Desmond.
Strasburg, facing fellow San Diego native Hamels for the fifth time, was hit hard as he gave up four runs in the fourth. He yielded six runs (five earned) and seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings before rookie A.J. Cole took over in the fourth.
Phillies left fielder Ben Revere, who had two hits and scored three runs, hit an RBI single in the fourth and later scored as shortstop Cesar Hernandez reached on an error by Desmond -- his 12th of the season.
That gave Philadelphia a 6-0 lead against Strasburg, whose ERA climbed to 6.50, as he has allowed 15 earned runs in his last three starts over 12 innings.
Second baseman Chase Utley, who would strike out three times, drove in a run with a grounder in the third and Howard followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0.
The next batter, Franco, drilled a two-run home run to right-center to make it 4-0.
Revere scored in the sixth to make it 8-0. He singled and then came around to score on a shot by Hernandez, who appeared to have a double but was called out when he did not touch first base.
The Phillies (19-25) have won eight of their last 11 games, while Washington (25-18) lost for only the fifth time in the last 23.
NOTES: Washington LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.94 ERA), a former minor leaguer with the Phillies, will face Philadelphia RHP Aaron Harang (4-3, 1.82 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. ... Washington OF Bryce Harper went 0-for-4 on Saturday, but has 11 home runs in May. ... The Phillies entered Saturday with a record of 6-16 on the road -- the lowest number of wins away from home of any team in the majors. ... Washington entered Saturday with a record of 18-4 since April 28. The Nationals have won their last six games decided by one or two runs.