Taylor homers, Cards strike back vs. Strasburg (Nats win 5-4)

ST. LOUIS - What better way for a Nationals lineup struggling to score runs to open a 10-game road trip than with a home run from the very first batter to step to the plate on this daunting swing through the Midwest?

If only the rest of the lineup was able to follow Michael A. Taylor's lead with some more production.

Taylor's opposite-field homer on the third pitch of tonight's game set a positive tone for a Nationals club that sorely needed one. His solo shot into the right field bullpen snapped the team's 22-inning scoreless streak.

But Taylor was a one-man show early on against Cardinals starter Mike Leake, who after serving up the homer proceeded to retire nine straight batters on a total of 28 pitches, leaving this lineup searching for some consistency yet again.

It didn't help that Stephen Strasburg gave St. Louis the run right back, and then another, in the bottom the first, putting the Nationals in a 2-1 hole.

Strasburg surrendered four hits in the opening frame, including a pair of doubles. Matt Holliday's shot off the wall in left-center brought home Matt Carpenter all the way from first base, though a better relay from shortstop Danny Espinosa might have nailed Carpenter at the plate and changed the complexion of the inning.

Matt Adams follow Holliday's double with an RBI single through the open portion of the Nationals' shifted infield.

Strasburg did escape the 23-pitch inning without suffering any more damage and made it through the third with the 2-1 deficit intact.

Update: The rest of the bats have finally come alive, producing a four-run top of the fourth that has turned this game around. The key moment early was the Nats' successful challenge of Anthony Rendon's stolen base attempt. Doug Eddings initally called him out, but the umps in New York overturned it on replay.

That wound up setting the stage for Rendon to score on Daniel Murphy's RBI single to right. Jayson Werth's sacrifice fly gave the Nats a 3-2 lead, and then Espinosa battled through a seven-pitch at-bat vs. Leake before hammering a two-run homer into the right field bullpen. That's Espinosa first left-handed home run in 85 at-bats, a streak that dated back to August 15, 2015, when he homered off ... Yusmeiro Petit. How about that?

And how about the Nats suddenly leading 5-2 after four innings?

Update II: Wow, Strasburg has settled into a groove, and it has been a sight to behold. Here's what the Cardinals have done so far in their third time up vs. the right-hander tonight: 1-for-8 with seven strikeouts. Yeah, that's seven straight outs via K. And they've all been swinging strikeouts. His fastball-changeup combo has been deadly here of late. And because of that, the Nats still hold their 5-2 lead after six.

Update III: Strasburg finished strong, inducing a double play to end the seventh. But with his starter's pitch count at 103, Dusty Baker turned to his bullpen for the eighth, with Blake Treinen the first man in. Treinen immediately got into trouble, with Matt Holliday reaching on an infield single and taking second on Rendon's throwing error. Matt Adams then hammered a 3-1 fastball the other way, landing the ball on top of the left field fence and over it for a two-run homer. Treinen escaped further damage, but it's now just a 5-4 lead for the Nats after eight as Jonathan Papelbon begins to loosen in the pen.

Update IV: Ballgame. Nats win 5-4. Strasburg improves to 4-0. Papelbon notches his eighth save. And the Nats kick off this tough road trip with an impressive victory in St. Louis.