Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg bounced back from a couple of poor starts Thursday against the Padres, as he threw a season-high eight innings in a win.
After struggling to get through five innings in his previous outing, Strasburg was relatively efficient this time around, needing 117 pitches to finish his eight frames. He limited the Padres to three hits in the game, while walking three batters. He also struck out four batters, nearly matching his season-low. He racked up 13 groundball outs and seven fly ball outs in the game.
Strasburg did not allow an earned run until the sixth inning, however the defense let him down earlier in the game. An unearned run came around to score in the fifth inning, after a throwing error by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. He allowed just the one earned run in his eight innings of work, and he earned his first win since his first start, 6-4.
Strasburg lowered his ERA to 2.83 on the season, while improving his record to 2-5. He is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday against the Giants.