 pitched six innings for his sixth straight win as the Nationals kicked off a 10-game homestand. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out eight. The right-hander is 10-1 with a 3.17 ERA over his past 12 starts.Colorado rookie Peter Lambert (2-2) gave up three runs and nine hits. He struck out eight with a walk but is winless in his last six games.The Rockies, who have lost seven of eight, had exactly one baserunner in five of six innings against Strasburg.Nationals catcher Yan Gomes began the night hitting .198 but had two hits, including an RBI single in the sixth to make it 3-0.Strasburg singled his first time up, giving him hits in four straight at-bats.WELCOME BACKFormer Nationals Ian Desmond (2009-15) and Daniel Murphy (2016-18) returned to Nationals Park. Both received warm ovations and tipped their helmets to the crowd before their second inning at-bats. Desmond went 1 for 3 and Murphy was 0 for 4. Desmond is the last player drafted by the Montreal Expos still active in the majors.TRAINER'S ROOMNationals: Manager Dave Martinez said RHP Max Scherzer (inflammation under his right shoulder) felt good after Monday's workout and is slated to pitch the series finale Thursday. ... Martinez said RHP Austin Voth (right biceps tendinitis) threw Monday and didn't feel well. Voth will have an MRI this week.UP NEXTRockies: RHP Jon Gray (9-7, 4.11) is slated to pitch the opener of Wednesday's day-night doubleheader. Gray is 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 11 road starts this season. LHP Kyle Freeland (2-7, 7.62) is expected to start the night game.Nationals: RHP Erick Fedde (1-1, 3.50) will pitch the day game and LHP Patrick Corbin (7-5, 3.40) will pitch at night. Corbin has a 1.85 ERA with 50 strikeouts and eight walks over his past six starts. Washington is 5-1 in those games.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Strasburg looks to keep dancing as Nats host RockiesFLMOn paper it looks like a pitching mismatch when the Washington Nationals host the Colorado Rockies in the first game of the series on Tuesday night, after the scheduled Monday game was postponed due to storms in the nation's capital.Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg (12-4, 3.52 ERA) enters having won each of his past five outings. Rockies rookie starter Peter Lambert (2-1, 6.06) is winless in his past five games.Lambert was slated to pitch Monday. Strasburg moves up to take the spot of Erick Fedde.The Monday rainout will be made up Wednesday as part of a split doubleheader, with games at 1:05 and 7:05 p.m. ET. The series is slated to end on Thursday afternoon.Strasburg is 5-4 with 4.07 ERA in 10 career starts against the Rockies, and has not lost to them since 2016. Lambert will be opposing Washington for the first time in his brief career.Not only is Strasburg on a roll on the mound, having gone 9-1 with a 3.44 ERA over his past 11 starts, but he also made an impact with the bat his last time out. The 31-year-old right-hander hit a homer and drove in five runs in a 13-4 win at Atlanta on Thursday.When a Nationals player hits a homer, he has to dance in the dugout -- a tradition started by veteran Gerardo Parra when he arrived in May. Strasburg showed his moves after he went deep."To be honest, it was pretty nerve-wracking," Strasburg told reporters after the game. "I didn't really have anything. I'm not a big dancer to begin with." "Did he say when the last time he danced was?" Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who went on the 10-day injured list Monday due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, asked reporters. "Stras isn't much of a dancer. His wedding might have been the last time he danced." In addition to his hitting and dancing, Strasburg gave up three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves -- the worst of his three July starts to date.Lambert remains winless since capturing victories in each of his first two major league starts in early June. His best outing since those two appearances came his last time out, when he held the San Francisco Giants to two runs on six hits in six innings during a no-decision on July 16."I was pretty comfortable out there," Lambert said, according to the Denver Post. "Especially after the last few days, my biggest goal was to get deep into this game to save our bullpen a little bit." The only damage against him occurred in the second inning, when Mike Yastrzemski hit an RBI double and then scored on a Joe Panik single."(Lambert's) fastball command was solid, and the use of the changeup, curveball, and slider was effective," manager Bud Black said, according to the Post. "The one pitch he'd like to have back would probably be the pitch to Yastrzemski that was up over the plate. But tonight was very encouraging." The game Tuesday will be a homecoming for former Washington regulars Ian Desmond and Daniel Murphy.Desmond was drafted by Montreal in 2004 before the franchise moved to Washington, and is the last player drafted by the Expos to be active in the majors. He had an Expos hat in his locker Monday before the game was rained out.Desmond, 33, played for the Nationals from 2009 to 2015, winning three Silver Slugger awards. Murphy was with Washington from 2016-18, capturing Silver Sluggers the first two years.--Field Level Media
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