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WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg turned in a strong outing and the bats produced another bunch of runs. Dan Girardi Jersey . After two months of mediocrity, perhaps the Washington Nationals have turned the page. Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings Wednesday night and the Nationals kept the Philadelphia Phillies bats quiet yet again in an 8-4, rain-interrupted win. The Nationals have won four of five, outscoring the Texas Rangers and Phillies 34-10 during that span. True, five games represent barely more than 3 per cent of the regular-season schedule, but they had to start somewhere. "Its been a lot of fun for us, pitching the ball good and swinging the bat well," said leadoff hitter Denard Span, who had two doubles and two RBIs. "Hopefully we keep it going." Strasburg (5-4) had the Phillies flailing as he hit double digits in Ks for the 15th time in his career -- and for the fourth time without issuing a walk. Ten of the right-handers 11 strikeouts were swinging, including Marlon Byrd (95 mph fastball), Ryan Howard (95 mph fastball) and Domonic Brown (88 mph change-up) when the rain started to fall in the sixth inning. "Facing a lefty-heavy lineup is difficult," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "But he used his changeup really well and spotted his fastball." The only consolation for the Phillies is that they scored an earned run for the first time in four games when facing the Nationals ace. The streak reached 25 innings before Philadelphia crossed the plate twice in the fifth -- once earned, once unearned. John Mayberry Jr. added a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh, but by then Strasburg had been working with a cushion of a half-dozen runs. The tarp came out shortly afterward, delaying the game for 1 hour, 48 minutes. Anthony Rendon finished with three hits and three RBIs, including a solo homer. Danny Espinosa had a two-run double that was a foot or so away from a grand slam, and Strasburg himself added a single, walk and run scored for the Nationals, who are above .500 for the first time in two weeks. "The offence has kind of kicked it back in," Williams said. Philadelphias A.J. Burnett (3-5) again had control issues in his worst outing of the season. Tied for the majors lead in walks entering the game, he issued four more free passes, including back-to-back walks in Washingtons four-run fourth and a walk to Strasburg in the three-run sixth. "Theyre unaggressive walks. I dont care if theres a base open. Thats not me," Burnett said. "Thats putting me in passive mode. Thats my fault. Ive got to go after hitters. I dont care if a base is open. I dont care whos up. I mean, thats not who I am. Ill take six aggressive walks over boo-boo walks that are 3-0 sliders, 3-0 curveballs or whatever it is." Burnett allowed eight runs over six innings. He was particularly bothered by the home run he gave up to Rendon in the fifth immediately after the Phillies had cut a 4-0 lead to 4-2. "For somebody who harps on shutdown innings, Im pretty (bad) at it," he said. "And I will be better. Guys throws up runs, you need to put up zeroes after that." The Phillies have lost five straight and are an NL-worst 9-19 since May 4. "Sun is going to come up, believe or not," Burnett said. "It might be a little cloudy." NOTES: It was Burnetts first loss against the Expos-Nationals franchise since April 8, 2002, when his Florida Marlins fell 10-2 to Montreal. He had been 5-0 in nine starts and one relief appearance against the franchise since then. ... Phillies leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins had the first four-strikeout game of his 15-year career. ... Mayberry has three pinch-hit homers this season. ... X-rays taken Wednesday on Darin Ruf were negative a day after the Phillies outfielder collided with a concrete wall during a game with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Ruf has a sprained left wrist and a cut on his right knee that required stitches, but he has no broken bones. He is on the seven-day disabled list. Anton Stralman Lightning Jersey .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Jake Dotchin Jersey . 17.A string of English Premier League teams, most in the lower end of the standings, has been linked to the 32-year-old forward but most have seemingly balked at the cost given his wages and transfer fee. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Dan-Girardi-Jersey/ . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. ST. LOUIS -- Michael Wacha is glad hes graduated to a pennant race. After finishing his college career at Texas A&M just over a year ago, the rookie pitched seven shutout innings and drove in two runs as the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2 Sunday for a three-game sweep. The Cardinals outscored Pittsburgh 26-10 overall in taking the NL Central lead. "It helped me going to A&M and playing in those big-time games and I guess gets me prepared for it," Wacha said. "So I just try not to think too much. I go out there and try to go out there and just trust myself. It ended up working out pretty well." The Pirates arrived at Busch Stadium this weekend with a 1 1/2-game division lead and a chance to cement their first winning season since 1992. They left trailing the Cardinals by 1 1/2 games and still stuck on 81 victories. This was the last time this season Pittsburgh and St. Louis were scheduled to play. Wacha (3-0) allowed two hits and walked two, both of which were erased on double plays. He struck out two and never had more than one runner on at a time. Wacha hasnt allowed a run in 19 2-3 consecutive innings. "A young pitcher coming in and just staying within himself, really establishing the strike zone early," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It seemed like he made some really good pitches as he got deeper into the game. Hes just making pitches all day. Its impressive." Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton (7-4) left with discomfort in his left foot in the second inning. He allowed five runs on six hits and two walks in 1 2-3 innings. Morton left for Pittsburgh before the game was over and wont join the team in Texas where it starts a three-game series Monday. Manager Clint Hurdle said he didnt know the extent of Mortons injury. Hurdle said Morton was hurt when he was backing up a base. "We werent sharp in any particular area of the game all weekend," Hurdle said. "They were much sharper than us across the board. Its very difficult to win a game when you are not functioning." Morton hadnt surrendered more than two runs since the Cardinals tagged him for five in a 13-0 victory on Aug. 1 in Pittsburgh. He went on to win his next three decisions over five starts, including a no--decision after giving up two runs in seven innings on Aug. Vincent Lecavalier Lightning Jersey. 13 at St. Louis. Wacha got his second career hit with a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw from Vin Mazzaro in a four-run fifth that scored David Freese and Matt Adams. St. Louis used 10 batters in the 28-minute inning -- exactly how long Wacha needed to get through six innings of pitching. "That was a lot of fun," Wacha said of his hit. "I told myself that I was going to hop on the first heater. I was able to sneak it by the shortstop up the middle. I was pretty fired up about that." Wacha also helped set up a three-run second with a sacrifice bunt that pushed Pete Kozma to third in front of consecutive doubles from Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay. Jay scored on Mortons final offering, a wild pitch that bounced just in front of the left-handed batters box. The Cardinals jumped in front with two runs in the first. Carpenter and Jay singled to start the inning and Matt Holliday walked to load the bases. Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly and Yadier Molina had an RBI grounder. "We all knew what was at stake," Carpenter said. "This is the last time we get to play these guys, so it was a big series. I couldnt be happier with the way it played out. Not just the fact that we won all three, but the fashion that we won all three. Really dominated, I feel like, every aspect of the game." Pittsburgh scored twice in the ninth off reliever Sam Freeman. Garrett Jones hit an RBI double and Gaby Sanchez had a sacrifice fly. Jones said Wacha had the Pirates guessing all day. "He has deception," he said. "That downward angle can be tricky. He was able to hit his spots and he has a good arm." NOTES: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen singled in the seventh to extend his hit streak to seven games. ... Carpenters single in the first was his 99th hit at home this season, a single-season record for the current Busch Stadium. ... Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez committed his major league-leading 27th error in the seventh, allowing pinch-hitter Brock Peterson to reach. ... The Cardinals are off Monday, but many will participate in Mathenys charity golf tournament. His Catch 22 Foundation supports charities that work with children with disabilities. 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