Strasburg comfortable and in command in Nats' 3-1 win

Stephen Strasburg returned to the mound to throw five scoreless innings as the Nationals beat the Braves 3-1 in the series opener. Strasburg, who was activated from the 15-day disabled list late Tuesday afternoon, was aggressive with his fastball all night, striking out six on high heaters while scattering four hits with one walk.

"I wanted to go out there and just execute pitches and just pitch my game," Strasburg said. "I think that's something that talking to a lot of guys in the clubhouse while I was away really kind of shed some light on what my strengths, what my weaknesses are. I really just tried to pitch to my strengths."

Strasburg had not looked comfortable throughout his 10 starts this season. Lingering effects from a sprained left ankle and alignment problems altered Strasburg's mechanics and left him overthinking on the mound as he watched his ERA balloon to a career-worst 6.55.

"I think that was the No. 1 goal going out there: All this time I've been working on the mechanics and working on fine-tuning things," Strasburg said. "But when you're out there between the lines, you have to go out there and compete. So I wasn't going to think about mechanics at all. I was just going to go out there and give it everything I have."

Nationals manager Matt Williams held Strasburg to 94 pitches in this outing saying that the tall righty wouldn't have any restrictions from here on out. Williams was pleased to see Strasburg in command throughout his first appearance since May 29.

"He was aggressive," Williams said. "It helps when you feel good. It helps when you don't have any issues. He used his fastball a lot. And it's a good one ... anywhere from 95 to 98 (mph) and up in the zone when he needs to throw it up there. He got a lot of punch outs on that."

The Nationals helped Strasburg feel comfortable on the mound by jumping out to an early lead in the first after Denard Span ripped a leadoff double and then Anthony Rendon immediately brought him home on a single to right.

Span delivered the next run for the Nats on an RBI base knock to left scoring Michael A. Taylor in the third. And Taylor drove in Danny Espinosa in the fourth on a single to left to round out the Nats' scoring.

The 31-year-old Span is in his third season manning center field behind Strasburg. He noticed a change in Strasburg's demeanor and overall approach on the mound tonight.

"He just looked like he was a little more confident out there," Span said. "For me, in the past or earlier in the season, I could kind of tell what pitch was coming, to be honest with you, from center field. But tonight, he looked a little different. Something just looked different. He looked like he was keeping hitters off balance. It was kind of catching me off guard what was coming out of his hand. I think some of that was mechanics. But he just pounded the strike zone, went after hitters and he was aggressive."

Strasburg acknowledged that his time on the DL allowed him to examine his struggles and recover from some of the nagging injuries.

"Sometimes you've just got to take a step back to realize how bad it was," Strasburg said. "Once I did, I was able to get back to what my body was supposed to feel like, instead of trying to just mentally grind through it. I feel a lot stronger and it feels a lot more consistent now."

Strasburg's five shutout innings means the Nationals starting pitchers have combined to throw 27 straight scoreless frames. The last run a starter gave up was Joe Ross on Friday in the second inning against the Pirates. With Doug Fister back from the DL last week, and a seemingly healthy Strasburg, the Nationals could be poised to create some space atop the National League East.

"We're only as strong as our starting pitching," Span said. "There's no question that those two guys are a big part of how far we are going to go this season. We're hoping that they can build off of their last starts and just continue to do what they've done for so long."

Note: Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr wasn't with the Nationals tonight after his wife, Kimberly, passed away.

"The Washington Nationals are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Kimberly Knorr, the wife of Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr," said Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo in a team issued press release. "Randy and Kimberly have been beloved members of our Nationals family dating back to his days as a player for the Montreal Expos. Kimberly was an exceptionally warm, loving person who devoted much of her time to helping others. We are heartbroken by her loss. She will be missed by the many people whose lives she touched. On behalf of the entire organization, I extend our deepest sympathies to Randy and all of their family."