Lineup busts out early vs. Garcia (Nats win 6-1)

ST. LOUIS - Dusty Baker faced Jaime Garcia countless times while managing the Reds, offering him plenty of opportunity to figure out how best to beat the Cardinals left-hander.

"This guy knows how to pitch," Baker said this morning before his Nationals faced Garcia at Busch Stadium. "You've got to get to him early."

Is a four-run top of the first early enough for you, Dusty?

The Nationals pounced on Garcia this afternoon, scoring four times before the Cardinals ever had a chance to bat. Anthony Rendon's one-out infield single and Ryan Zimmerman's two-out walk set the stage for Daniel Murphy, who drove an RBI single to center to put the Nats on the board.

Jayson Werth then turned the "1" on the scoreboard into a "4" with one mighty swing, launching a three-run homer off the top of the left-field wall to leave the still-arriving crowd here in stunned silence.

It was a continuation of the Nationals' offensive resurgence from last night's 5-4 win. After going 22 consecutive innings without scoring against the Phillies, they've now scored nine runs in their first 10 innings against St. Louis.

Werth, despite a batting average hovering around the Mendoza line, is making the most out of the hits he does record. He's now second only to Bryce Harper on the roster with four homers and 12 RBIs.

Handed that 4-0 lead before he took the mound, Joe Ross went right to work and impressed in his first start in 10 days. Sidelined due to a blister on his right middle finger, the young right-hander allowed a leadoff double to Jeremy Hazelbaker in the bottom of the first but then retired the next nine batters he faced to make it through three scoreless innings on 48 pitches.

Ross, who has struck out four straight batters (all on sliders), has given up only one run in 19 2/3 innings this season.

Update: The Nationals haven't done much at the plate since that first-inning explosion, but they haven't needed to because Ross has been electric. He carried a shutout into the bottom of the fifth, which meant that since giving up a run in his very first inning of the year, he didn't give up another for 19 2/3 innings. That's the second-longest streak in the majors this season, trailing only Jake Arrieta's 23-inning scoreless streak.

The Cardinals did finally get to Ross in the fifth, but despite loading the bases with one out managed to get only one across the plate, via a sac fly. So it's 4-1 Nats after five, with Ross' pitch count at 80.

Update II: Ross' day was done after six really impressive innings that lowered his season ERA to 0.79. Sammy Solis then took over in the bottom of the seventh and put up another zero, thanks to a pair of strikeouts. So it's still 4-1 Nats heading to the eighth.

Update III: Make it 6-1 Nats after eight, thanks to more sloppy defense from the Cardinals, who have been charged with three errors today and have 24 on the season.

Update IV: It's over. Nats win 6-1 and have secured their first series victory at Busch Stadium since 2007. They'll send St. Louis native Max Scherzer to the mound in search of their first-ever sweep here tomorrow afternoon.