Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) is patted with a bat by teammate Bryce Harper (34) after hitting his first career home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Washington, Sunday, May 20
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) is patted with a bat by teammate Bryce Harper (34) after hitting his first career home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Washington, Sunday, May 20, 2012. Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg hit his first major league home run and struck out eight in five innings to carry the Washington Nationals past the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 Sunday.

Strasburg sent an 0-2 pitch from Wei-Yin Chen into the Baltimore bullpen in the fourth inning to put the Nationals ahead 5-3. After dusting off his home run trot and returning to the dugout, Strasburg responded to a curtain call by waving to the crowd of 41,918.

The hard-throwing Strasburg had five hits in 40 big league at-bats before Sunday. He singled and scored in the third inning, then followed a shot by Jesus Flores with one of his own in the fourth.

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