May 12, 2018 4 min read

With their star-studded lineup and pitching staff, the Washington Nationals can win in a variety of ways.

Saturday belonged to Stephen Strasburg.

The ace right-hander struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings, and the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 for their third straight victory against the NL West leaders.

Strasburg (5-3) allowed one run and five hits in Washington’s sixth win in seven games. The Nationals stranded 11 baserunners, but Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon each drove in a run.

Sammy Solis and Shawn Kelley each got two outs before Ryan Madson finished the five-hitter for his third save. Manager Dave Martinez said he wanted to stay away from late-inning relievers Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle, and Strasburg and company delivered.

“It’s just trusting the process and it’s a roller coaster of a season,” Strasburg said. “I think it’s just important for us to stick together when we do play these types of games and leave it all out on the field. Sometimes it’s going to work out and sometimes it’s not.”

Arizona dropped its season-high fourth consecutive game. The Diamondbacks also lost a series for the first time after opening with 10 wins and two ties.

“We were very proud of that. It means we came out of the gates ready to play baseball once the spring was over and it has put us in that position right now,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I know it’s a great story and something fun to follow, but I knew that something like this was probably going to happen before the year was over. Time to start a new streak.”

Harper’s ringing double into the right-field corner drove in Trea Turner in the second, and the Nationals loaded the bases with one out against Troy Scribner (0-1). But Scribner struck out Andrew Stevenson and Michael A. Taylor to end the inning.

The Diamondbacks tied it at 1 with a two-out rally in the third against Strasburg, who battled mechanical issues early in the game. Paul Goldschmidt walked and scored on A.J. Pollock’s double.

Washington reclaimed the lead in the fourth, loading the bases off Scribner again.

Rendon’s fielder’s choice drove in Pedro Severino before Scribner was removed from the game.

Scribner, called up Saturday from Triple-A for the start, allowed four hits and walked six in 3 2/3 innings. He also struck out four.

The Nationals put runners on the corners with one out in the fifth, but were unable to add to their lead. Severino’s bunt was hard enough to allow reliever T.J. McFarland to throw out Howie Kendrick at home plate, and Strasburg struck out.

McFarland threw three scoreless innings.

Mets-Phillies, ppd.: The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies have been rained out after a one-hour rain delay. The game will be made up in Philadelphia on Aug. 16 as a part of a single-admission doubleheader that will start at 4:05 p.m.

Cleveland 6, Kansas City 2: Francisco Lindor homered twice and and doubled twice to help the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2. Lindor hit solo home runs in the third and seventh, and scored four runs. His third career four-hit game extended the All-Star shortstop’s hitting streak to 13 games.

N.Y. Yankees 7, Oakland 6:, 11 inn.: Left fielder Brett Gardner threw out Matt Olson at the plate with the help of a replay reversal to help Aroldis Chapman escape a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the ninth inning, and the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 on Neil Walker’s run-scoring single on the 11th to avoid New York’s first three-game losing streak since last August.

Detroit 4, Seattle 3: Matthew Boyd pitched impressively until the seventh inning, and the Detroit Tigers broke through with three runs in the sixth on their way to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a doubleheader. Jose Iglesias hit a two-run homer for the Tigers, and Grayson Greiner contributed the first two RBIs of his big league career.

Baltimore 6, Tampa Bay 3: David Hess pitched six effective innings in his big league debut, Jonathan Schoop hit two home runs and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader. Manny Machado also homered for the Orioles, who shook off an early deficit to extend their winning streak to four games – their longest run since last August.