DENVER – Stephen Strasburg pitched seven strong innings, Jayson Werth hit a tiebreaking triple in the eighth, and the Washington Nationals rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Strasburg (7-6) allowed just two hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in his third consecutive solid start since coming off the disabled list. Since returning to the rotation on Aug. 8, the big right-hander has allowed just three earned runs, struck out 25 in 20 innings and lowered his earned-run average from 5.16 to 4.22.
The Nationals tied it in the seventh when reliever Gonzalez Germen allowed a two-out double to Bryce Harper and walked two in a row to load the bases. Germen then threw a wild pitch to Ryan Zimmerman and Harper scored easily to tie it at 1.
Washington again mounted a two-out rally off Rafael Betancourt (2-4) in the eighth. Wilson Ramos singled, pinch-hitter Clint Robinson walked and Werth lined a triple over the glove of right fielder Carlos Gonzalez to make it 3-1.
Werth finished with two hits.
Zimmerman added an RBI single in the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon got the final three outs for his 20th save and third with Washington.
Four Colorado pitchers combined to walk nine batters a night after issuing 10 bases on balls. Starter Jorge De La Rosa walked six but left the game without allowing a run after some clutch pitching through six innings.
He struck out Harper with a runner on third to end the fifth and he worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth.
The Rockies took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the second. Zimmerman misplayed Ben Paulsen’s grounder down the first-base line for a two-base error. Paulsen moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
Strasburg found his groove after that. He retired 17 of last 18 batters he faced, including the final 10.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: OF Denard Span (back) had two hits in five innings of a rehab assignment Tuesday night. He was scheduled to play seven innings Wednesday. “He was scheduled to potentially DH but he called and said he was thinking about playing the field as well,” manager Matt Williams said. “It’s a good sign that he’s feeling good.”
Rockies: C Michael McKenry was placed on the 60-day DL with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. McKenry has played with a sore knee for most of the season.
UP NEXT
Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (11-9, 2.73) will make his first start at Coors Field since 2009 when he was with Arizona.
Rockies: LHP Yohan Flande (2-1, 4.19) has struggled against the Nationals in his career. He is 0-1 with a 5.87 ERA in three starts against Washington.
