The Washington Nationals were taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a three-game series, trying to rebound from the opening series loss. The Nats were able to jump start their offense in the first inning, knocking around Chris Archer in his major league debut in the first inning, picking up three runs.
The Rays answered in the second inning however as Jose Molina took Stephen Strasburg deep to cut into the Nats lead while Hideki Matsui knocked in a run in the very next inning to pull within a run of Washingon. Strasburg settled in after giving up two runs and locked down the Rays offense, striking out 10 batters in seven innings of work. The Nationals bullpen were able to hold off the Rays as the Nats held on to win 3-2 and even the series.
or more news, analysis, and discussion on the Nationals, visit Federal Baseball. For more on the Rays throughout this interleague series, visit DRaysBay.