Stephen Strasburg blows away Rockies in Nats' 6-1 win

The Nationals may have found their secret weapon for the playoff run and he has a familiar face. Stephen Strasburg reintroduced himself to the season with his a 12-strikeout domination of the Rockies in the Nationals' 6-1 win.

Rockies right fielder Charlie Blackmon welcomed Strasburg back with a leadoff double in the first, but then the tall right-hander went to work. He finished the frame by whiffing All-Star Nolan Arenado with one of his knee-buckling curveballs.

Strasburg pounded the zone with fastballs living in the mid to high 90's and topping out at 98 mph. Two more strikeouts followed in the second and third innings each.

After fanning Carlos Gonzalez to start the fourth, Arenado belted a changeup into the Rockies bullpen. The solo homer was all the only run that crossed the plate for Colorado as Strasburg settled back in, striking out the side in the inning.

"He didn't look like he was coming off the DL," Gonzalez said. "He pitched really good. His stuff was electric today. His fastball was moving a lot with velocity, and his breaking ball was really good, too. It's really sharp. It looks like it's going to be around the strike zone and then it goes down quick to the ground. As soon as you see, you already swung the bat and you get yourself in trouble. He's a really good pitcher."

Strasburg never allowed a base runner after Arenado's longball, retiring 11 straight while piling up a season-high 12 strikeouts without a walk.

"He's one of the best in baseball when he's out there doing his thing," Bryce Harper said. "Painting 98 (mph) on the black, reaching 99 (mph) sometimes. Great curveball, good changeup. He's got four-plus pitches. He's very good out there, and when he's in control, he's unhittable."

Strasburg had not pitched for the Nationals since July 4 against the Giants, a game he was forced to leave with a strained left oblique, which sent him to the disabled list the following day. It was the second time the 27-year-old's season was interrupted with a trip to the DL this season after dealing with bothersome injuries since spring training.

"It's definitely been and up and down year and it's been a huge learning experience," Strasburg said. "I'm excited to have another opportunity and go out tomorrow and get ready for the next one."

Strasburg lowered his ERA to 4.76, the first time it's been under 5.00 since May 12. He finished the night at 91 pitches, but Nationals manager Matt Williams said Strasburg was fully capable to go back out for the eighth and throw upwards of 105 had the Nationals not poured in two more runs causing a longer wait.

One of those runs in the seventh came off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman, who drove in Danny Espinosa as part of a two-hit, two-RBI night. Most of Zimmerman's focus after the game was on Strasburg, his teammate of the past six seasons.

"I think for some reason, people have always been very hard on (Strasburg) no matter what," Zimmerman said. "If he does well, it's not good enough. If he does bad, then it's kind of like the I-told-you-so thing. This guy, he's the worst best pitcher I've ever seen in my life. This guy gets no credit for what he's done since he basically came out. To see him throw the ball like that tonight, that was fun to watch."

It was the 17th time in Strasburg's career that he's reached double digit strikeouts and the third start in which he has fanned at least 12 batters without issuing a walk. Five times he blew his heater past Rockies for strikeouts, five times Strasburg got them to chase filthy curveballs on the final pitch and twice he sat down Colorado hitters with baffling changeups.

"I feel like my feel for my pitches has always been there," Strasburg. "I think it's just knowing what I want to do with it in certain spots. I just been working hard and continually preparing as much as I can for these guys and trying to have a good game plan."

Strasburg didn't limit his damage to the mound. He released his frustrations of the long layoff at the plate as well. In the second, Strasburg legged out an infield single and then smoked liners past Arenado in the fourth and sixth for his first three-hit game of his career.

Williams was so impressed that he opened his postgame press conference acknowledging Strasburg's work with the lumber.

"He can really hit," Williams joked when asked to describe Strasburg's overall performance.

"I ran into the first one and I was thinking as I hit that was probably gonna be my best chance at getting a hit this year, so I just ran as hard as I could," Strasburg said chuckling. "You know what they say, sometimes you just need one of those hits to get things going, and I started to feel a little more comfortable."

The bit of laughter hadn't been heard in a few days. Coupled with a Mets loss in Tampa Bay, the Nats pulled to within 1 ½ games of the lead in the National League East. Maybe Strasburg and his blazing fastball will provide the bolt of lightning the Nats need down the stretch.