WASHINGTON — Right-hander Stephen Strasburg won his third consecutive start and remained unbeaten in his career against the San Francisco Giants, pitching an economical six innings of one-run ball in the Washington Nationals' 9-2 victory in a matchup of division leaders Monday. Denard Span had two doubles and a triple, and shortstop Ian Desmond drove in career-high five runs with a single, a double and a triple as the Nationals (33-29) won for the eighth time in 10 games. The win in the opener of a four-game series provided a happy homecoming for the Nationals' Matt Williams in his first return to San Francisco (42-22) as a major league manager. Williams was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Giants in the 1980s and ‘90s. Dodgers 6, Reds 2: Scott Van Slyke homered twice and collected a career-high three hits, and Dan Haren allowed two runs in five innings, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Van Slyke, making just his third start in center field, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs while right fielder Yasiel Puig returned to the starting lineup for Los Angeles (34-31) and went 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored. Left fielder Ryan Ludwick homered for Cincinnati (29-33). Pirates 6, Cubs 2: Andrew McCutchen doubled, homered and drove in three runs, and Charlie Morton allowed one run in seven innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Chicago Cubs. Braves 3. Rockies 1: Gavin Floyd broke a six-game losing streak, allowing one run in 6-2/3 innings, on a home run by Corey Dickerson, to help Atlanta beat Colorado. American League Angels 4, A's 1: Garrett Richards allowed one run on four hits in seven innings to lift the Los Angeles Angels to a win over the Oakland A's. Mike Trout had two RBIs for Los Angeles. It was also a big win for the Angels (35-28), who won their fourth in a row to move within 3-1/2 games of first-place Oakland (39-25) in the AL West. Even with Monday's win, the Angels have lost five of seven games to the A's this season. Indians 17, Rangers 7: Lonnie Chisenhall exploded for three home runs and tied a Cleveland club record with nine RBIs in the Indians' victory over the Texas Rangers. Blue Jays 5, Twins 4: Kevin Pillar blooped a single to right field in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins. White Sox 6, Tigers 5: Jose Abreu broke out of a 1-for-17 slide by launching a two-run home run and going 2-for-4 in the White Sox's win over the Tigers. Orioles 4, Red Sox 0: Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Ryan Flaherty each homered, and right-hander Bud Norris threw eight shutout innings as the Baltimore Orioles scored a victory over the Boston Red Sox. Mariners 3, Rays 0: Second baseman Robinson Cano hit a two-run double, and made a key defensive play to lead the Seattle Mariners to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Inter-League Astros 4, Diamondbacks 3: Houston second baseman Jose Altuve had three hits and drove in a run, and Dexter Fowler added three hits and scored twice, leading the Astros to a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. — Reuters
