Nats open tough road trip with 5-4 victory in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals picked a good time to start hitting again. And Stephen Strasburg picked a good time to mow down one of baseball's tougher lineups.

Behind a four-run explosion in the top of the fourth and seven strong innings from Strasburg, the Nats opened their toughest road trip of the season on a positive note. They pulled off a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals, though it included some tense moments late once they turned to their bullpen to finish what Strasburg started.

Riding a three-game losing streak that included 22 consecutive scoreless innings, the Nationals pounced on St. Louis starter Mike Leake early, with Michael A. Taylor homering on the right-hander's third pitch of the night.

Strasburg gave that run back, plus another, in the bottom of the inning, but his teammates picked him up thanks to a four-run fourth that was jumpstarted by manager Dusty Baker's successful challenge of umpire Doug Eddings' out call on Anthon Rendon's attempted steal of second. Once the officials in New York overturned that call, Rendon was left in position to score on Daniel Murphy's RBI single.

Jayson Werth's sacrifice fly gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead moments before Danny Espinosa provided some big insurance with a two-run homer to right, his first home run batting left-handed since Aug. 15, 2015.

Handed that lead, Strasburg bore down and dominated the Cardinals lineup as the night wore on. He didn't allow a run after the first inning and finished with a flourish, striking out 7-of-8 batters during a stretch from the fourth through the sixth innings.

Strasburg's pitch count at 103 after the seventh, manager Dusty Baker turned to his bullpen to protect a three-run lead. That quickly morphed into a one-run lead when Blake Treinen surrendered a Matt Holliday single and a Matt Adams homer in the eighth.

But that's as close as the Cardinals would get. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth to record his eighth save, leave Strasburg with a 4-0 record and leave the Nationals feeling good about the way this tough road trip began.