Nationals vs. Giants: Stephen Strasburg dominates in 6-4 win

SAN FRANCISCO — Wednesday afternoon, under a cloudless blue sky at AT&T Park, Stephen Strasburg offered one of the final impressions of his season, a show to appreciate and a break from the cacophony surrounding his impending shutdown. The performance — batters flailing at change-ups, falling out of the box against curveballs — encapsulated all of what makes Strasburg who he is, a figure worth protecting and begging to see more of.

Even as Strasburg dominated the San Francisco Giants for six innings, the Washington Nationals’ 6-4 win illustrated a crucial tenet of their past success and future hopes: They are so much more than Strasburg. The Nationals won the series and closed their season-changing, 10-game trip with an 8-2 record. Their lineup knocked out Tim Lincecum after four innings, and after a harrowing finish they pushed the best record in the majors to 73-45.

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The Post Sports Live crew talks about the effect Stephen Strasburg’s shutdown could have on the rest of the clubhouse down the stretch.

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Insight on the Nationals and all the latest news from Post reporters Adam Kilgore and James Wagner.

The Nationals have gone 41-23 away from Nationals Park, where they will return Friday with Ian Desmond expected to be in the lineup at shortstop after missing 25 games. They have a better record on the road than any team except for the Cincinnati Reds does playing at home.

“Good teams play just as well on the road as they do at home,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “And we’re a good team.”

Strasburg allowed two runs and struck out seven in six innings, pushing his season total to 173 strikeouts, which led the league until the New York Mets’ R.A. Dickey reached 175 Wednesday night. He walked four batters, two of them coming to lead off the second, the ragged inning in which he yielded his only two runs. He made his other frames look easy, throwing 100 pitches total. He may have five starts remaining, perhaps more and perhaps fewer. His innings count for the year is 139¹ / ₃, a number he has pushed out of his mind.

“It’s out of my control,” Strasburg said. “I’m just doing everything I can to help this team win games and it’s all going to take care of itself in the end.”

Wednesday, the Nationals could have won with a lesser pitcher on the mound. Steve Lombardozzi swatted four hits, Danny Espinosa continued his second-half rampage with a booming two-run homer and Jayson Werth drove in three runs. All told, the team lashed 12 hits.

The Nationals tacked on two runs against the Giants’ bullpen, and they needed them after a scary ninth. With two outs in the ninth and a runner on second, closer Tyler Clippard induced a mile-high pop-up from Pablo Sandoval. Adam LaRoche settled under the ball, but the wind toyed with it in the bright sky.

“I got to be totally honest,” LaRoche said. “As confident as I am in my defense, if I got that ball 10 times in those circumstances — not a cloud in the sky, the wind blowing, the ball hit as high as it was — I may catch it about four or five. It was about halfway down. I gave myself a 50-50 chance. I was like, ‘I’m not in a good spot right here.’ ”

The ball grazed LaRoche’s mitt and bounced in the dirt. The game was over, and then it wasn’t. One run scored. Buster Posey, perhaps the hottest hitter in the league, strode to the plate.