Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman both hit home runs as the Washington Nationals defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-1 Friday night at Chase Field in Phoenix. The win was Washington's 70th of the season and their seventh in a row, the longest winning streak the Nationals have enjoyed this year.
Stephen Strasburg (13-5) took the hill for the Nationals and pitched six innings, bringing his total for the season to 133.1. Strasburg allowed just one run on one hit and struck out six, but also walked four. Arizona scored their only run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Justin Upton scored on a single by Chris Johnson, which followed a nearly 10-minute delay that began when home plate umpire Dale Scott was hit in the chin by a foul ball and left the game. Third base umpire C.B. Bucknor took over behind the plate and finished the game.
Johnson's hit tied the game at 1-1, but Washington retook the lead in the top of the fifth inning, when Zimmerman hit his 16th home run of the season. The two-run shot into the left-field seats gave the Nats the lead for good at 3-1.
Morse added to Washington's advantage in the sixth inning with a long opposite-field home run to right-center field to make the score 4-1. It was Morse's 11th home run of the year and his third in two games. Washington added a run in the 7th inning and four more in the 9th to provide the final margin and keep the Nationals 4.5 games in front of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
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