WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg threw eight masterful innings and bunted in a run and Michael Taylor hit a two-run homer that broke the game open as the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Friday night in the first game after the All-Star break.
Strasburg (13-0) allowed one run and three hits with six strikeouts. The eight innings tied his longest start of the season. It was Strasburg's franchise-record 16th straight decision since September.
Washington improved to 16-1 with Strasburg on the mound this year. He is the only qualified starter in the majors without a loss.
The Nationals did most of their damage in the seventh inning, scoring one run on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Strasburg, another on a wild pitch and throwing error and two more on Taylor's seventh homer (see full recap).
Red Sox use homers to top rival Yankees
NEW YORK -- Ryan Hanigan, Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts homered off Michael Pineda to back knuckleballer Steven Wright, and the Boston Red Sox opened the second half with a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night.
Hanigan's third-inning homer was his first since last Aug. 19 off Cleveland's Corey Kluber, and the ball was caught by reliever Robbie Ross Jr., who stuck out his cap to snag it in the visitors' bullpen in left field. Shaw hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Bogaerts made it 5-0 with a two-run drive in the sixth.
Wright (11-5), who began the night with an AL-leading 2.68 ERA, was a first-time All-Star at age 31 but didn't pitch in Tuesday night's game and was moved up in Boston's rotation for the series opener (see full recap).
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Marlins rally late to beat Cardinals
ST. LOUIS -- Ichiro Suzuki had a pinch-single for his 2,991st career hit and scored to tie it in the eighth inning and Miguel Rojas drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Tommy Pham had two of the Cardinals' four homers and drove in four runs. Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk also connected for St. Louis, which hit two each off Wei-Yin Chen and reliever David Phelps but had three defensive miscues.
The hit was the first since July 4 for the 42-year-old Suzuki. He's had just seven pinch-hit appearances and one start this month with the Marlins, who have a steady outfield rotation of Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton.
The Cardinals blew leads of 4-1 and 6-5 to fall to 19-27 at home. They were 55-26 at home last year, tied for best in the majors (see full recap).
