The top prospect finished six innings only once and was ripped for five runs in 3 1/3 frames in his final appearance against Baltimore on July 4.
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How it happened: It may be a long, long time before you hear the name Firpo Marberry again.
Justin Turner hit two home runs and knocked in five runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers stunned the undefeated Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals 6-3, on Thursday morning in Washington D.C. In four starts against them, he has a 1-0 record with a very low 1.71 ERA. He gave up just one run in eight innings of work that day while striking out six batters and walking two.
Turner, who still sees room for offensive improvement, struck out with two outs and runners on in the bottom of the second. That, he did not receive.
The early lead made for a comfortable return to the majors for rookie left-hander Julio Urias. Nationals first-base coach Davey Lopes stole 418 bases while playing with the Dodgers from 1972-81. The Nationals used four relievers after Strasburg left.
The Dodgers (54-43) took the series from the leaders of the National League East. The Dodgers now hold a wild card playoff spot, so that could be something to look back on if they match up in the postseason. But regular season series records only matter so much. His 17 home runs on the season are a new career high, surpassing the 16 he hit in 2015.
Urias settled in from there and outpitched the two-time All-Star Strasburg through four innings on Thursday.
Strasburg surrendered three straight singles to veterans Chase Utley, Howie Kendrick-who extended his hit-streak to 13 games-and Gonzalez to start the inning before allowing a game-changing, three-run blast to Turner.
Strasburg was seeking to become just the third pitcher in Major League Baseball history, joining Dave McNally (15) and Roger Clemens (14) to start the season with 14 consecutive wins, but his bid for history was stopped short less than 24 hours after his 28 birthday.
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After that, though, Strasburg settled in and started looking like himself. By the end of the top of the sixth, his last inning, he had retired 12 of 13 batters and eight of them by the strikeout. Strasburg also departed with his eighth 10-strikeout game of the season in what was, by runs and outcome, his worst start of the season. After an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez in the third, Turner blasted a 3-0 pitch from Strasburg into the seats in left for a three-run shot and a 6-1 lead.Bryce Harper put the Nationals on the board with a sacrifice fly in the third. He moved to second on Michael A. Taylor’s single. He then hit a hard ground ball to the second base side of shortstop, where Dodgers shortstop Chris Taylor fielded it without trouble.
