Nationals' Strasburg Strikes Out 14 In Win Over Marlins
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) — The Miami Marlins fell victim to another dominant pitching performance by Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday night.
The right-hander struck out 14 in 7 1/3 shutout innings and extended his personal winning streak against Miami to 11 as the Nationals continued their midseason surge with a 3-1 victory.
"He was utilizing his fastball both sides of the plate, but his changeup was really good and he threw some good curveballs," manager Dave Martinez said. "When he can throw the ball the way he wants, he is nasty."
Brian Dozier and Matt Adams homered for Washington, which has won seven of its last eight and is 25-10 since May 24. The Nationals improved to 44-41, the first time they've been three games over .500 this season.
Strasburg (10-4) allowed two hits and two walks and didn't allow a man past first until the eighth. He is 20-7 with a 2.86 ERA in 34 career starts against the Marlins, and his 11 consecutive wins against them is tied with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw's dominance of San Diego as the longest active winning streak in the majors against one team.
He earned his first three strikeouts on changeups, then effectively mixed pitches throughout the night to baffle Miami's hitters.
"I felt like my changeup has kind of gotten away from me," Strasburg said. "I just tried to get back to basics, and it seemed to be much better tonight."
Strasburg's gem included the first immaculate inning of his career. Strasburg needed just nine pitches to strike out Garrett Cooper, Neil Walker and Starlin Castro in the fourth.
"You didn't see a lot of guys coming back feeling like they had pitches to hit," Miami manager Don Mattingly said. "Guys coming back, when they go check it, basically (said) 'He's hitting corners and basically giving you nothing to hit.' He was really good tonight."
Fernando Rodney induced a double-play grounder to escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and Sean Doolittle gave up a run in the ninth but stranded the bases loaded for his 19th save in 22 tries.
Miami's Sandy Alcantara (4-8), making his first start since earning an All-Star nod Sunday, matched Strasburg for five innings. But he hung a two-out, 0-2 slider to Dozier, who deposited it over the left field fence for a two-run homer in the sixth. Alcantara allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
"I think I had a pretty good game," said Alcantara, who lost to Washington for the second time in a week. "I just missed a spot with my pitch and they hit a homer."
Dozier's blast extended Washington's home run streak to 17 consecutive games, the longest in a half-century franchise history that includes the team's time in Montreal.
Adams added a solo shot in the eighth.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
