Nationals 6, Phillies 0
WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg pitched his first career complete game -- a four-hit shutout -- and Jayson Werth and Steve Lombardozzi each had three hits as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 Sunday to sweep a three-game series.
Strasburg, utilizing an effective sharp-breaking curve, had 10 strikeouts and one walk. His longest outings of the season before Sunday were eight innings, a mark he reached three times. Strasburg (6-9) threw 90 pitches in the first eight innings against the Phillies, and the crowd cheered as he took the mound to start the ninth. He wound up at 99 pitches, nearly 40 percent of them off-speed pitches.
The right-hander persevered on a day that he was checked out by the trainer after a pitch in the second and after he was hit on the forearm while attempting to bunt in the fifth.
Strasburg was hit on the right forearm on a pitch from Kendrick, but first base umpire James Hoye ruled that Strasburg attempted to bunt.
After throwing a pitch to Domonic Brown to lead off the second, Strasburg was checked by manager Davey Johnson, pitching coach Steve McCatty and trainer Lee Kuntz. Strasburg threw a warmup toss at 90 mph, then stayed in the game.
The Phillies (52-65) have lost nine of their last 11 overall and the last 11 in a row on the road. Philadelphia is 19 1/2 games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves, while the Nationals (57-60) remain 14 1/2 games behind.
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel was denied his 1,000th victory for the third day in a row.
The Nationals, who finished with 13 hits, scored three runs in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. Lombardozzi drove in a run with a single after Werth and Ian Desmond scored when Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley skipped a throw to catcher Erik Kratz on a play at the plate with the bases loaded.
Wilson Ramos and Span had RBI singles in the fourth off Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (10-9) to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead. The two-out hit by Span was a chopper that Utley could not make a play on as Adam LaRoche scored from third.
Werth gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single to score Span. Werth, who had his 1,000th career hit Saturday, began the day batting .404 since July 1, the best mark in the big leagues.
Ramos and Desmond had two hits apiece.
NOTES: The Phillies are 13-11 in games started by Kendrick ... Kratz played in college at Division III Eastern Mennonite University, about 120 miles southwest of Nationals Park in Harrisonburg, Va. ... Washington LHP Gio Gonzalez (7-5, 3.52 ERA) will oppose San Francisco Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 2.75) on Tuesday at Nationals Park. LHP Cole Hamels (4-13, 3.81) and the Phillies will play Monday at Atlanta, which will start RHP Julio Teheran (9-5, 2.96). Hamels is 12-8 with a 3.73 ERA in his career against Atlanta. ... Gonzalez is 2-2 with a 2.87 career ERA against the Giants ... The Nationals are only 8-15 in Strasburg's starts.
