Nationals beat Phils again, finish off series win

Washington, DC -- Stephen Strasburg tossed 7 1/3 solid innings, Ryan Zimmerman knocked in two runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies by a 4-1 margin on Sunday.

Strasburg (1-1) allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking two for the Nationals, who took three of four in this series. Over his first two starts of the season, Strasburg had been pounded for 19 hits and 11 runs -- eight earned -- over 10 2/3 innings.

"You work on things and you try to remember what the keys are -- what are you trying to do with the pitch, where you want to execute it," Strasburg said. "You try to paint that picture in your head. You go out there and let it go."

Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth had one RBI apiece for Washington.

Freddy Galvis drove in the lone run for the Phillies, who went 1-6 on a seven- game road trip. David Buchanan (0-3) gave up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks over five innings.

"Buchanan did throw a lot of pitches early on," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Little things didn't go his way with the three runs. He showed some improvement over his first two starts."

Strasburg was perfect until giving up a two-out single to Carlos Ruiz in the fifth. Cesar Hernandez walked before Ben Revere grounded out.

The Nationals broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the bottom half. Denard Span hit a two-out single and raced home on Desmond's double down the left- field line. Werth followed with an RBI single to center. After Bryce Harper was intentionally walked, Zimmerman hit an RBI double to right in front of a charging Jeff Francoeur.

Washington tacked on a run against Dustin McGowen in the seventh. Desmond walked, moved to second on Werth's groundout and raced home on Zimmerman's single to center.

The Phillies finally got on the board in the eighth. Odubel Herrera doubled and crossed the plate on Galvis' single. Matt Thornton took over for Strasburg and got the final two outs of the inning.

Drew Storen pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season.

Notes: The Nationals activated Span from the 15-day disabled list prior to Sunday's game ... The Phillies went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight ... Strasburg improved to 5-1 lifetime against Philadelphia ... The Nationals continue a seven-game homestand with three games against St. Louis starting Tuesday ... Philadelphia starts a six-game homestand with three games against the Marlins beginning Tuesday.