Strasburg finishes strong, Adams stays hot

MIAMI - Stephen Strasburg has looked better. But the right-hander's performance Thursday night was just as integral to the Nationals' 8-5 victory over the Marlins as the fireworks display put on by the Nats lineup.

Strasburg has long dominated the Marlins; he entered this game 9-0 with a 1.23 ERA against Miami since September 2015. But this Marlins lineup proved tougher than previous ones, in part because of its ability to put the bat on the ball, especially on Strasburg's curveball.

Miguel Rojas led that charge with four hits off Strasburg, including a key double to right field during a three-run bottom of the third.

"Curveball was pretty good for the most part. Then they started to sit on it, especially with two strikes," the right-hander said. "I had to flip the script a little bit."

Which is what he did once the Nationals took the lead in the top of the sixth. Strasburg retired six of the last seven batters he faced, turning more to his changeup and fastball to finish off hitters.

"Honestly, I didn't really feel like they hit his curveball hard," catcher Kurt Suzuki said. "They might have found some holes or found some outfield grass. But credit to them. They battled. They put the bat on the ball. But nothing real damaging with that curveball. We didn't really abandon it. That's his pitch. You obviously think about, try to pick your spots a little better. But for the most part, we just stayed aggressive."

Strasburg would finish with four runs allowed in seven innings, raising his ERA to 3.88. But he finished strong and kept his peerless streak going against the Marlins: He's now 10-0 with a 1.60 ERA against them since September 2015.

* We've been speculating about this for a while, but it's about to become an actual challenge for Davey Martinez. Ryan Zimmerman is set to come off the injured list later today in Detroit, but Matt Adams is tearing the cover off the ball.

And that doesn't even take into consideration Howie Kendrick's season-long tear at the plate.

Adams was up to his tricks again Thursday night, launching a three-run homer down the right field line to key the Nationals' five-run rally in the sixth. It was his second homer in as many nights, his sixth in his last 11 starts.

So what happens now?

"We're going to find ways to get him in there, especially against right-handed pitchers," Martinez said. "We've talked about this before: Him and Howie, they're a tremendous value to this club, and I've got to get them in there."

With a designated hitter for this road interleague series, the decision should be a little easier for Martinez. But somebody is going to be left out of the lineup each day who probably feels like he deserves to be in it.