Taking stock of a 4-2 victory and 6-1 spring start

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Dusty Baker smiled at the mention that the Nationals had just won their fourth straight spring training game, improving to 6-1 in Grapefruit League play.

"That's fine with me," Baker said. "I'll take it."

A lineup populated with few players who will head north with the Nationals dispatched the Astros 4-2 on Tuesday afternoon.

Luckily, the battery of right-hander Max Scherzer and Jose Lobaton was mostly in synch, even if Scherzer did have to battle through a 37-pitch first inning that included a 13-pitch at-bat against promising Astros slugger A.J. Reed.

Scherzer didn't make it to three innings as the Nationals hoped, but he limited the damage in the first. When the Astros were up 1-0 and had loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, Scherzer outlasted Reed, getting him to bounce into a 5-2 forceout at home, and fanned Jon Singleton.

Disaster averted, and a 1-2-3 second inning followed for the Nationals ace. Instead of heading back out for a third inning, Scherzer gave way to righty Yusmeiro Petit, who picked up the victory with three innings of one-hit ball that included four strikeouts.

Not the way Scherzer drew it up, but better than getting beat around and having nothing to show for the effort. He worked two innings, giving up a run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Scherzer was supposed to go three innings if his pitch count allowed. It didn't.

"(Reed) took almost a whole inning off (Scherzer)," Baker said. "He had a 13-pitch at-bat. He got out of that inning unscathed - threw 37 pitches and gave up one run. He did great."

Lobaton drove in a pair of runs with a single and a groundout, and the Nationals flashed some serious leather late in the game to keep the Astros at bay.

Left fielder Tony Campana was in the middle of two defensive gems, no small achievement for a guy coming back from a torn ACL in his right knee that caused him to miss the entire 2015 season. Campana sustained the injury doing box jumps while training to join the White Sox last year.

"We played really good defense, especially the outfield defense," Baker said. "Tony Campana was like a Gold Glover today."

Speed is Campana's game, and the kind of injury he sustained can turn speedsters into mere mortals on the basepaths and turn plus defenders into ordinary fielders.

With a runner on and one out in the eighth, Danny Worth sent a sinking liner to left that Campana nabbed at his shoestring, recovered in stride and threw to first base, with Matt Skole making a nice pick to complete the inning-ending double play. In the ninth, Campana charged hard across the left field foul line, reaching into the stands to snag Tony Kemp's foul ball for the inning's first out.

"That's what I want to go out here and do, run around here and make some plays, and I was able to go out there and do that today," Campana said. "It was a lot of fun."

Though he remains a long shot to break camp with the Nats, Campana possesses speed and a good glove, two traits Baker values. If Campana stays with the organization, he could become an important depth piece at Triple-A Syracuse.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "I feel healthy, which is the main thing. I just wanted to come out here and make sure that everything felt the way it did before. So far, so good."