Stephen Strasburg shuts down Padres in Nats' 8-3 win

This Nationals season has been marred by injuries since spring training. Most of tonight's pregame attention was dominated by the return of Denard Span from the disabled list, finally making the Nats lineup whole for the first time year in the 124th game. But it was Stephen Strasburg, who twice lost large chunks of the season to DL stints, dominating the Padres over six strong innings in the Nats' 8-3 win.

Yonder Alonso singled to lead off the second and Jedd Gyorko followed with a two-run homer to left to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. That was all San Diego could muster against Strasburg, who shut down the next 15 batters before exiting the game after 102 pitches.

Ryan Zimmerman delivered the big blow with a two-out grand slam in the sixth that extended the lead for Strasburg and the Nats to 8-2.

"It seems like (Strasburg is) throwing more fastballs then he was before," Zimmerman said. "I don't know if he is or not. He's being aggressive, attacking the zone. That's important for him. With the stuff that he has, he should go right after guys.

Strasburg fanned seven and yielded only a walk to Matt Kemp with two outs in the first. Since returning from the DL on Aug. 8, the right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA while striking out 32 and walking just three over 26 innings across four starts.

After Gyorko's early homer, Wilson Ramos answered with a two-out two-run bomb in the bottom of the second to even the score for Strasburg.

"He's more aggressive right now," Ramos said of Strasburg. "When he came back from DL, he's being aggressive, he's pitching more good. His velo is back, you know 98 miles per hour fastball, so he attack the hitter really well. His pitches were good, his changeup and curveball. All the guys in the lineup giving good support to him. I think when the pitchers feel support from the hitter, they feel more comfortable on the mound."

The lofty expectations surrounding the Nats entering the season were centered on a stacked starting rotation. Coming off 2014, where Strasburg tied for the NL lead with 242 strikeouts, he was to be a dominant force in the starting five. But Strasburg never got on track, posting a bizarre 6.55 ERA through his first 10 starts before heading to the DL the first time.

Now Strasburg is overmatching hitters with a full repertoire.

"Health is a big key," manager Matt Williams said on the difference between Strasburg early season and now. "If he feels good when he's out there, then he's able to let it go. I don't know how many balls he threw that were 98 miles per hour tonight, but quite a few of them. He sat 95 to 97 (mph). That just means he feels good. We're happy to have him take the mound for us."

The Mets won their fifth straight, beating the Phillies 6-5 to maintain a 5 1/2-game lead over the Nats in the NL East.

Meanwhile, on a night when the Nats finally got healthy, they won their third straight game behind impressive performances from previously injured stars Zimmerman and Strasburg.

"Good atmosphere," Williams said. "Nice curtain call for Zim. It's been a long season for a lot of those guys for them not being able to play. So it's a good feeling."