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Desmond, Nats top Giants

Jul 4, 2012 - 6:01 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer as the Washington Nationals took a 9-3 win over the San Francisco Giants in a rain- soaked opener of a three-game series.

Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche both drove in two runs for the Nationals, who have won three of four. Jordan Zimmermann (5-6) pitched six-plus innings and gave up just two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits with seven strikeouts and added an RBI double.

Gregor Blanco went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Giants, who have lost three of four. Tim Lincecum (3-9) continued his struggles as he was torched for eight runs -- seven earned -- on nine hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts over just 3 1/3 innings.

The 94 degree heat took its toll on Lincecum.

"It just got the better of me a little bit," Linceum said. "They made me work and made me pay for it."

Washington took a lead it never lost in the second. With one out, Desmond singled to left and Danny Espinosa followed with a double for the first run. Two batters later, Zimmermann helped his cause with a double to score Espinosa for a 2-0 lead.

The Nationals plated three more in the third. With one out, Ryan Zimmerman singled and moved to second on a Morse groundout. LaRoche then doubled in Zimmerman and Desmond followed with his 14th homer of the season for a 5-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Nationals made it an 8-0 game on a two-run single from Morse and a sacrifice fly from LaRoche.

"When they give you a lead like that you don't want to let them back in the ball game," Zimmermann said. "I just went out there, threw strikes and pounded the zone."

The Giants got on the board in the fifth thanks to a two-run single from Blanco. The team had put their first three men on base prior to Blanco's single, but Zimmermann rallied to set down the next three batters and limit the damage.

It started to rain heavily in the top of the seventh and the game went into a delay after Brandon Crawford led off with a single.

After a one-hour, 25-minute rain delay, the teams came back and exchanged runs in the eighth as Brandon Belt hit a sacrifice fly in the Giants' half and Bryce Harper doubled home Steve Lombardozzi in the home half to account for the final score.

Game Notes

The Nationals placed righty Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 1, with a right hip strain on Tuesday, and reinstated right-hander Henry Rodriguez from the DL...San Francisco went just 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base...Lincecum fell to 1-3 in seven games against the Nationals...Zimmermann is 3-1 in five games against the Giants.