It took the Washington Nationals a little while to figure out Houston Astros pitcher Jordan Lyles, but they did and went big in a 5-2 victory. Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman both hit solo home runs while Laynce Nix delivered a timely two-run single in the top of the ninth, part of a three run ninth inning. Zimmerman also had a RBI in the ninth and finished the night 2-for-4 and two RBIs.
Pitcher Jason Marquis turned in another brilliant performance going eight innings giving up two runs on six hits. He walked only one batter while striking out nine. Marquis long run through the game took a lot of pressure off the Nats bullpen and only one reliever entered the game. That reliever was closer Drew Storen who came in to the ninth to close out the game. He gave up only one double to Carlos Lee, but second base is the closest the Astros got to home plate in the bottom of the ninth as Storen shut the door and got his 25th save of the year.
The Jayson Werth Slump watch continues as he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He took an important walk in the ninth inning that helped in the Nats rally, but that bit of good cheer was killed when he made some bad base running decisions in the same inning to kill the rally. Wilson Ramos popped out in the ninth and then Werth for some reason got caught trying to go home on a play from third.
The Washington Nationals move back to .500 with a 48-48 record and into third place in the NL East.