(Reuters) – Stephen Strasburg returned to form and won his first game in nearly a month with the aid of a pair of Adam Dunn home runs as the Washington Nationals cruised to an 8-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
Strasburg improved to 3-2 with his first win since June 13, having endured a pair of losses and three no-decisions since overpowering the Cleveland Indians in a 9-4 victory.
After giving up a leadoff home run to Andres Torres in the first inning, Strasburg allowed just two more hits and a walk, while striking out eight in six innings.
“After that I was like, ‘You know what, bottom line, if they’re going to beat me, they’re going to beat me. Me calling my own game’,” Strasburg told reporters. “I just put it all on my shoulders.”
Dunn was three-for-four with three RBIs and three runs scored. His solo home run in the third inning broke a 1-1 tie, and his two-run blast in the seventh was part of a four-run inning that put the game out of reach for San Francisco.
“I think every hitter, especially every power hitter, goes through a stretch where they hit home runs,” said Dunn. “That’s kind of what’s happening right now.”
After falling behind in the top of the first the Nationals countered with a run in the bottom of the inning, capitalizing on a throwing error by pitcher Matt Cain on an attempted pickoff at second base.
Washington added two more runs in the sixth.
Giants starter Matt Cain (6-8) gave up 11 hits in over six innings, allowing all eight runs while striking out six and walking three.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by Ian Ransom)