Washington Nationals outclass Miami Marlins 4-1 as Stephen Strasburg shines – MLB Update
The starter Stephen Strasburg replies with six solid innings after being roughed up in his last outing as the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 at Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. on August 5, 2012 in the last match of the four game series.
The four runs that Nationals posted in the second inning remained unchallenged throughout the game. As after the second Washington experienced a run-drought until the last inning, Marlins were always in a position to come from behind and pull off a victory.
To their dismay, most of their batters failed to send base-runners across home plate. In-fact the quality of pitches that they came across rendered it almost impossible for them to score runs.
In the first place, they had to confront master-class throws from Nationals’ starter Strasburg. In the first six innings that he hurled, they did not post even a single run.
Managing only three hits against him, they were clueless facing Strasburg.
Meanwhile, when relievers stepped in, the Marlins could entertain thoughts of reaching past the Nationals' score by latching on to the loose throws that they may offer.
However, relief pitchers proved even more difficult in terms of connecting hits and drawing walks. Drew Storen, who was out of control in the last game, rebounded on Sunday. By throwing the scoreless ninth inning, he recorded his first save of the season
for Washington.
Meanwhile, despite winning, Strasburg is of the view that he is still in the process of learning and that the Sunday’s game was great in this regard.
''I'm still learning how to pitch and call a game and really pick up on little things that happen in the game that you can use to your advantage,'' Strasburg said. ''Today was a big step forward for me in that process, but there's still a long way to go.''
Offensively, the first baseman Adam LaRoche turned out to be the most successful hitter from Nationals. He managed two hits in three at-bats. Other than him, Strasburg added two RBIs in one hit that he struck in the game.
As the series concludes now, the Nationals will be enjoying the winning moments. They will be looking to ensure that their momentum remains intact in the games to come.
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