Sports Online:Nats are first to 70 wins as bats back Strasburg

PHOENIX -- With all the talk of Stephen Strasburg's innings limit, there was a moment on Friday night when it was worth wondering whether the Nationals would let him run up his pitch count trying to complete a no-hitter.

Strasburg only gave up one hit over six innings in the Nationals' 9-1 win over the D-backs at Chase Field. He walked four,  all with two outs, and struck out six while running his pitch count to 104.

The win was the Nationals' seventh straight, ninth in 10 games and made them the first club in the Majors to 70 this season.

Strasburg, who picked up his 13th win and lowered his ERA to 2.90, allowed his only hit in the fourth inning, immediately after a nine-minute injury delay that saw home-plate umpire Dale Scott exit the game.

After recording the first two outs on six pitches, Strasburg walked Justin Upton. He then got ahead of Miguel Montero with a 1-2 count. But Montero's foul tip hit Scott in the face mask, knocking him out of the game.

Strasburg, who meandered around the mound and threw a few pitches to catcher Kurt Suzuki during the break, threw two straight balls when play resumed, and Montero fouled off three pitches before taking ball four. Chris Johnson continued the two-out rally with an RBI single to left field that tied the game, 1-1.

But Washington's lineup hardly needed a shutout from its ace. The Nationals got on the board in the third, when Steve Lombardozzi drilled a one-out triple to center field -- the first of his career-high-tying four hits -- and scored on Bryce Harper's sacrifice fly. That put the Nats ahead, 1-0, a lead Strasburg gave up in the fourth.

Ryan Zimmerman made sure the tie didn't last long, crushing a 2-2 pitch from Trevor Cahill into the left-field stands for a two-run homer, his 16th of the season.

Michael Morse continued his recent tear, going deep to right-center field to put Washington ahead, 4-1, in the sixth. Morse, whose hitting streak would have increased to 19 games if not for an Aug. 2 call getting overturned Friday afternoon, homered twice on Thursday in Houston.

Washington got into Arizona's bullpen in the seventh and put up another run. Lombardozzi hit a leadoff single, moved to second on Harper's walk and scored when Adam LaRoche hit a double-play ball to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. He forced out Harper at second, but shortstop Stephen Drew threw wide of first on the return throw, allowing Lombardozzi to score the third of his four runs -- a career high -- giving the Nats a four-run lead.

Washington tacked on four runs in the ninth.

Atlanta also won on Friday, so Washington maintained its 4 1/2-game lead in the National League East.