Cards unable to keep pace with Nats in finale

WASHINGTON — The Nationals continue to shine with Stephen Strasburg on the mound. The right-hander pitched six solid innings and helped Washington rout the Cardinals, 10-2, on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park.

The Nationals have won 15 consecutive starts made by Strasburg, extending his own franchise record. Strasburg improved to 9-0 in 2016 by allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts. The run came in the fourth inning when Brandon Moss hit a mammoth home run into the right-field upper deck to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.

But the Nationals took the lead in the bottom of the inning off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha. Bryce Harper had an RBI single, while Wilson Ramos drove in two runs with a single to right.

The Cardinals made it a one-run game against a combination of Nats relievers — Oliver Perez, Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero — in the top of the seventh inning, when Matt Adams hit a sacrifice fly.

But it was all Nats after that. They would score seven runs in the next two innings. Jayson Werth highlighted the scoring with a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDRivero saves day: With the Nationals up, 3-1, the Cardinals had the bases loaded with one out when Rivero entered the game. After Adams hit his sac fly to make it a one-run game, Rivero got Randal Grichuk to fly out to left fielder Chris Heisey to end the threat.

Bullpen blues: When manager …

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