(AP) -- Bryce Harper hit his third home run in two games, Jason Werth homered for the first time since May, and Edwin Jackson struck out 10 Thursday night as the Washington Nationals padded their NL East lead with an 8-1 win over the punchless St. Louis Cardinals.
The Nationals opened an 11-game homestand with an overwhelming performance against a wild-card contender that failed to score an earned run for the third straight game.
Jackson (8-9) was so dominant that three of his strikeouts required throws to first because the Cardinals were chasing balls in the dirt.
The victory moved the Nationals 5½ games ahead of idle Atlanta.
Jaime Garcia (3-6) allowed six runs for the Cardinals, whose streak of 28 scoreless innings ended in the eighth.
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal might return home from the team's road trip for further testing after straining his right elbow in an 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday night.
Furcal left after making back-to-back throws to home and second in the sixth inning.
He said he felt a pop and then tingling on the two throws and that he will have an MRI on Friday.
(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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