Strasburg, Glover stop Braves’ sweep
ATLANTA — Stephen Strasburg’s strong start provided much-needed relief for Washington’s drained bullpen — and then Koda Glover made a convincing pitch to be the Nationals’ closer.
Strasburg struck out a season-high 11 batters and kept up his recent domination of the Atlanta Braves, leading Washington to a 3-2 win Sunday that ended the Nationals’ losing streak at four games.
“I felt like whatever I called, it was going to be good,” Washington catcher Jose Lobaton said.
Strasburg (5-1) allowed five hits and one walk in 7 2/3 innings, his longest start of the season.
“We were hoping he’d go deep, deep, deep into the game, which he did,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.
Strasburg beat Atlanta for the second time this season and improved to 7-1 in his past nine starts against the Braves. He is 10-8 overall against Atlanta.
Glover recorded four outs for his third save this season.
“Right now, he’s the most durable,” Baker said of Glover’s status among closer candidates. “He wants it, and we’re willing to give it to him if he keeps doing the job.”
Strasburg reached double digits in strikeouts for the second time this season after fanning 10 Braves on April 20. Three of Strasburg’s strikeouts came against Matt Adams, who made his Atlanta debut.
A day after he was acquired from St. Louis, Adams was 0-for-4 and hit into a ninth-inning double play. Matt Kemp led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and Adams hit a line drive that was caught by Ryan Zimmerman, who stepped on first base.
“I don’t know if he missed a spot all day until the end,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Strasburg. “We could have had Hank (Aaron) and (Dale) Murphy in the lineup, and it wouldn’t have mattered today. He was that good.”
Strasburg faded in the eighth, when Dansby Swanson hit a tworun double after striking out in his first three at-bats of the game. Glover struck out Nick Markakis to end the inning and finished the six-hitter.
Daniel Murphy hit a second-inning homer off Jaime Garcia (1-3), and the Nationals added two unearned runs in the third.
“They gave me some runs early,” Strasburg said, “and after that I was just trying to put together as many shut-down innings as I could.”
Though overshadowed by Strasburg, Garcia also pitched well. He allowed three runs — one earned — and seven hits in eight innings with no walks.
“He was really, really good,” Snitker said. “… That’s the way I envision him all the time.”
Swanson moved from eighth to second in the Braves’ batting order Sunday. After a slow start to the season, the rookie has hit .341 in his past 12 games.
“He’s probably the toughest .201 hitter in the league,” Baker said of Swanson, who actually finished the day at .207.