Strasburg strikes out career-high 15 Padres (Nats win 3-0)

Stephen Strasburg isn't getting a ton of help from his defense, so he's taking matters into his own hands this afternoon.

Strasburg has seven strikeouts through three scoreless innings against the Padres, overcoming two errors by his Nationals infield but struggling to keep his pitch count manageable.

Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner each were charged with errors in the game's first two innings, prolonging things for Strasburg. Zimmerman made a wide throw to second base in the top of the first, his latest poor attempt on a sidearm throw he typically has been able to make since switching to first base.

Turner, meanwhile, lost control of the ball after scooping up a second-inning grounder, perhaps hindered by a wet infield on this rainy afternoon. Showers have been falling intermittently, though not enough to warrant a stoppage of play.

Through it all, Strasburg has been effective. He struck out a pair in the first, two more in the second and then struck out the side in the third, punctuated by a 97 mph fastball to Cory Spangenberg. The right-hander's pitch count, however, already stands at 61.

Strasburg also helped stake the Nationals to a 1-0 lead when he led off the bottom of the third with a single to center.

Jayson Werth's double off the left field wall - it left his bat at 112 mph - advanced Strasburg to third. Bryce Harper then scorched a ball to the right side of the infield, and though first baseman Yangervis Solarte made a nice lunging grab, his throw to the plate (from the seat of his pants) was a split-second too late to get Strasburg.

Update: It's still 1-0 Nats after five innings, and Strasburg still is piling up the strikeouts. He has 11 of them already, including nine of them in a span of 11 batters. The only hit the right-hander has allowed was Allen Córdoba's leadoff single over Wilmer Difo's leap at second base in the top of the first.

The Nationals have had opportunities to expand their lead but have stranded a bunch of runners on base. Or, worse, run themselves into outs on the bases. Turner was picked off by Clayton Richard in the bottom of the fifth. Then with two outs and two on, Werth inexplicably tried to take off for third base and was caught in a rundown to end the inning.

Update II: Michael A. Taylor has provided some very big insurance runs. Taylor mashed a two-run homer to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, extending the Nationals' lead to 3-0. Strasburg returned to the mound for the seventh at 100 pitches, then completed the seventh on eight more pitches, his strikeout total up to 15. That's a new career-high for the righty.

Update III: That's your ballgame. Nats win 3-0. Matt Albers pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Koda Glover pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his fifth save. But the star of the day was Strasburg, who struck out 15 in seven dominant innings to beat his hometown team. The Nationals improve to 30-18 and will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon.