Strasburg injured, but Nats rally to beat Braves 5-4 in 11

The status of Stephen Strasburg's right arm - which is very much an open question at this moment - has far more significance to the remainder of the Nationals season than the outcome of tonight's series finale against the Braves.

But the game wasn't called off after Strasburg walked off the mound in apparent pain two batters into the top of the third. They all still count, and right now the only thing the Nationals can do beyond hoping Strasburg isn't seriously injured is keep trying to win as many games as they can and lock up the National League East title as soon as they can.

So while the celebration may have been more muted than usual, the Nationals' 5-4 11-inning victory tonight was nonetheless a positive development for a team that surely needed one at the end of a long and potentially devastating night (depending on the forthcoming Strasburg update).

Wilson Ramos' bases-loaded single over a drawn-in outfield brought home Jayson Werth with the winning run, capping an extraordinarily long and eventful night of baseball.

Werth opened the rally with a leadoff walk. Daniel Murphy followed with a double to deep right field, leaving the winning run 90 feet from the plate. After the Braves intentionally walked Bryce Harper to load the bases, Ramos delivered his hit to left field.

A two-out rally off rookie reliever Trevor Gott, capped by Jace Peterson's RBI single to left, had given the Braves a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th. But the Nationals came right back to tie it in the bottom of the inning on three straight singles, only to miss a golden opportunity to win it when Trea Turner grounded into the first double play of his career.

The night began with optimism, Strasburg returning to the mound three weeks after his last appearance left him with a sore elbow. Even after waiting out a 57-minute rain delay before the game could begin, Strasburg dazzled the crowd with a 1-2-3 top of the first that included a pair of strikeouts on 91-mph changeups.

The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Werth's bloop RBI single to right, but then disaster struck in an all-too-familiar scene.

After allowing a leadoff double to Dansby Swanson in the top of the third, Strasburg twice grimaced while throwing pitches to Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, including one that sailed way high and nearly past Ramos. Head athletic trainer Paul Lessard joined pitching coach Mike Maddux in a visit to the mound that ended with Strasburg walking back to the dugout and straight to the clubhouse, the lower half of his face buried inside his glove.

The crowd of 19,894 sat in stunned silence as Sean Burnett entered from the bullpen to complete the third inning. The importance of what happened after that paled in comparison to any bit of information that might trickle out about Strasburg, but the Nationals had no choice but to play on.

After Burnett completed the third, Lucas Giolito took over. These were unusual circumstances for the rookie right-hander, who earlier this year was deemed the top starting pitcher prospect in the sport, and he did what he could to get the game to the back end of the bullpen in one piece.

Giolito was not, however, perfect. He gave up a run in the sixth (though he escaped worse damage thanks to a brilliant play by shortstop Danny Espinosa and then a 4-6-3 double play) and then another in the seventh on Swanson's solo homer to left.

Down 3-1, the Nationals needed to mount a rally. They struggled all night to deliver despite several scoring opportunities, going 1-for-8 with five strikeouts with runners in scoring position through the first six innings alone.

And then they finally got the big hit they had been seeking, from the man who has provided more of them this season than anybody else on the roster: Murphy. With a bases-loaded single to left in the bottom of the seventh, Murphy drove home two runs to tie the game and raise his RBI total to 100. He joins Ryan Zimmerman (2006, 2009), Adam Dunn (2009, 2010) and Adam LaRoche (2012) as the only players in Nationals history to reach triple digits.