Strasburg solid in return from surgery

Stephen Strasburg allowed two hits in five shutout innings Tuesday night in his first major league start since undergoing Tommy John surgery, but the bullpen blew the lead as the host Washington Nationals lost, 7-3, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 2009 overall No. 1 draft pick again displayed the blurry fastball, the knee-buckling sinker and the fooled-again changeup that wowed the baseball world last year during his rookie season. Those magical days of "Strasmus" came to an abrupt end when his elbow popped on Aug. 21 in Philadelphia, and his long road back began when he had ligament replacement surgery last Sept. 3.

He was set to get to win when he departed with a 3-0 lead, but the bullpen allowed the Dodgers to tie it in the sixth. Then after rain returned in the seventh to force a 31-minute delay, Rod Barajas' two-run double in the eighth off Henry Rodriguez (3-3) put the Dodgers ahead for good.

His workload carefully monitored, Strasburg threw 56 pitches, 40 for strikes. He struck out four, didn't walk a batter, and his fastball peaked at 99 mph.

Phillies 6, Braves 3: Rookie Vance Worley (11-1) pitched six effective innings as host Philadelphia recorded its 90th win and extended its lead in the NL East to 9 1/2 games.

Cardinals 4, Brewers 2: Kyle Lohse (13-8) threw six scoreless innings on eight days' rest and Jon Jay and Matt Holliday homered in the third inning for host St. Louis.

Rockies 8, D-backs 3: Troy Tulowitzki homered and Seth Smith tripled twice for host Colorado.

Tigers 10, Indians 1: Victor Martinez drove in three runs as Detroit dropped host Cleveland 8 1/2 games back in the AL Central.

Rangers 8, Rays 0: C.J. Wilson threw a five-hitter and David Murphy drove in four runs for visiting Texas.

Wilson (15-6) matched his career high in wins from last year and became the first Rangers lefthander to record 15 or more wins in consecutive seasons.

White Sox 3, Twins 0: Jake Peavy (7-7) struck out a season-high nine and Alex Rios homered for visiting Chicago. -- AP