ST. LOUIS, Miss., April 28 (UPI) -- Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman both hit two-run homers in the first inning Friday night as Washington beat St. Louis, 8-3.
Johnson drove in three runs; Zimmerman scored twice; Royce Clayton had two hits and scored twice; while Alfonso Soriano also had two RBI for the Nationals (8-15), who snapped a five-game losing streak. They scored seven runs in the first three innings to take control of the contest.
Winner Tony Armas, Jr. (2-2) gave up two runs and four hits in six innings with three walks and five strikeouts.
Albert Pujols tied a major league record with his 13th home run in the month of April; and Skip Schumaker drove in the other run for the Cardinals (15-8), who had a four-game winning streak broken.
In five-plus innings, losing pitcher Jason Marquis (3-2) gave up seven runs and eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
