Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg Bash Houston Astros 8-2

Special ceremonies and a moment of silence took place before today's Nationals-Astros game in Washington D.C in remembrance of the tenth anniversary of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks.

Stephen Strasburg allowed one run over three innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery, and the Washington Nationals hit three consecutive home runs in an 8-2 win against the Houston Astros.

Strasburg didn't display the same efficiency as he did in his return Tuesday. The right-hander needed 31 pitches to get out of the first inning, although he settled down and finished with six straight outs. He allowed three hits and struck out four in his 57-pitch outing. Strasburg has now pitched 8 innings in two games for the Nationals this season with a 1.18 ERA.

Ian Desmond, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Zimmerman all went deep off Houston starter Henry Sosa (2-4) to start the Nationals' third inning.

According to MLB.com, the last time the Astros gave up three consecutive homers was also against Washington on July 11, 2009, at Minute Maid Park.

Later that inning, rookie Chris Marrero's RBI double to deep center scored Danny Espinosa. Starter Henry Sosa exited after giving up five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, including the back-to-back-to-back blasts. Sosa fell to 2-4 with a 5.02 ERA on the season.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report