Stephen Strasburg K's 13 as Washington Nationals Beat Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2

Stephen Strasburg was absolutely dominant on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Washington Nationals right-hander struck out 13 batters over just six innings.

He allowed just two runs—only one of which was earned—on five hits and and three walks.

In Strasburg's 24 career starts, his two highest single-game strikeout totals have both come against the Pirates.

He struck out 14 over seven innings in his major league debut in 2009 and struck out 13 on Thursday night.

Ryan Mattheus, Tyler Clippard and Henry Rodriguez all worked scoreless innings in relief of Strasburg, with Rodriguez picking up his seventh save of the season.

With the win, Strasburg is now 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA on the season.

The Nationals offense was strong today despite only scoring just four runs as Roger Bernadina, Rick Ankiel and Adam LaRoche all went deep.

LaRoche also doubled, and he owns a career .296 average with 34 home runs in 205 games at PNC Park.

Strasburg provided a little offense of his own, stroking his third double of the season. He now owns an impressive .308 average.

Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Chad Tracy and Danny Espinosa each recorded hits of their own, and their batting averages now sit at .229, .263, .256 and .191, respectively.

The Nationals effectively avoided the sweep in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, and they now head to Cincinnati to take on the Reds starting on Friday.