Phillies-Nationals observations: Strasburg dominates as Phils end trip with a thud

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WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker held most of his regulars out of the lineup Sunday, but not Stephen Strasburg. Much to the Phillies' chagrin, the right-hander got the ball and was dominant in leading a 3-2 Washington win.
 
Strasburg pitched eight shutout innings, allowed two hits (both singles), a walk and struck out 10.
 
He has pitched 34 straight scoreless innings, a Montreal/Washington franchise record. He has not allowed a run in four straight starts.
 
Strasburg left with a 3-0 lead. The Phillies scored two runs in the in the ninth, on a Nick Williams base hit against Ryan Madson, but got no closer.

Trea Turner was the only Washington regular in the starting lineup. He tripled and scored the Nats' first run in the sixth and later homered.

The Nationals' win over the Phillies combined with the Marlins' loss to the Braves officially clinched the National League East title for Washington.

The Phillies went 5-6 on the 11-game trip and Williams had 15 RBIs.
 
• Battling Ben Lively delivered his third straight quality start. He became first Phillies pitcher not named Aaron Nola to pitch into the eighth inning this season. He gave up five hits and three runs in completing eight. He walked one, struck out seven and received no run support.

• While teams like the Dodgers, Astros, Cubs and Indians have gotten much of the spotlight this season, the Nationals have played a bit under the radar. But they will be a tough team to reckon with in the postseason. With Max Scherzer (2.32), Gio Gonzalez (2.50) and Strasburg (2.64), they have the second-, third- and fourth-best ERAs in the National League, and the July acquisitions of Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle have bolstered the bullpen. Of course, they still need to get Bryce Harper healthy and there's optimism they will. Watch out for the Nats.

• Pete Mackanin had considered playing J.P. Crawford at second base but backed off on that because he wanted to keep Cesar Hernandez's bat in the lineup after Hernandez had three hits Saturday night. Crawford got the start at third, but Mackanin kept Maikel Franco in the lineup after he'd homered in two straight games. Franco played first base for the first time since 2015 when he played two games there. Franco had not even taken a ground ball at first base since then. He borrowed Andres Blanco's first baseman's glove for the game. Rhys Hoskins returned to left field. A lot of the positional movement is dictated by wanting to get Crawford at-bats without thrusting Freddy Galvis to the background. Galvis is a Gold Glove candidate and could be a trade candidate this winter. "I want guys to play in different places," Mackanin said. "But I want to try to keep the guys that are hitting in the lineup." Aaron Altherr got the start in center field as Odubel Herrera sat out.

• Franco had the Phillies' only two hits against Strasburg, both singles. More on him in the coming days, but he's begun to make adjustments at the plate, especially with his hands and his footwork at the plate. Time will tell what it will bring.

• Tough day for Hoskins — he struck out three times against Strasburg. It happens.

• Crawford struck out twice against Strasburg then worked a full count against Madson and yanked a single in the hole between first and second. Crawford is 4 for 20 with seven strikeouts and no walks after his first six games.

• The Phillies have just 19 games remaining and 16 of them are at home. They are off Monday and begin a 10-game homestand Tuesday night with the first of three against the Miami Marlins. Here are the pitching matchups for that series:

Tuesday night — RHP Nick Pivetta (5-10, 6.49) vs. LHP Dillon Peters (0-1, 2.25)
 
Wednesday night — RHP Aaron Nola (10-10, 3.71) vs. RHP Dan Straily (9-8, 3.95)

Thursday night — RHP Jake Thompson (1-2, 5.23) vs. RHP Jose Urena (13-6, 3.61)

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