MIAMI -- Stephen Strasburg against the woebegone Miami Marlins figured to be no contest, and it was. Miami won in a rout. Giancarlo Stanton tied a career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer off Strasburg, and the Marlins broke an eight-game losing streak by beating the Washington Nationals 11-2 Tuesday night. Both benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the fourth inning when Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the Nationals Ian Desmond engaged in a heated, nose-to-nose conversation at home plate. Desmond was unhappy that Marlins starter Tom Koehler threw several pitches high and inside. Among the tunes playing in the Miami clubhouse after the victory was Alice Coopers "No More Mr. Nice Guy." "It feels great," Saltalamacchia said. "We faced a great pitcher. It feels great to be able to make him work tonight." Strasburg (1-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in four innings. He fell to 2-3 at Marlins Park with an ERA of 8.61. "Weve put together some pretty good at-bats off him over the last couple of years, and had some good games against him," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "We had a nice plan. Guys were aggressive. He threw quite a few fastballs early in the count, and we were ready for them." That has often been the approach of hitters against Strasburg so far this season. "They dont want me to get comfortable," the right-hander said. "A lot of the dominant pitchers with swing-and-miss stuff, thats what their approach is going to be. I felt I had a good mindset today. It was one of those days where it seemed like every pitch I threw, they hit it." Koehler (2-1) allowed one hit and five walks in seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.89. The performance was a welcome change for a team that had an ERA of 6.12 during the losing streak. Desmond became annoyed when he barely avoided being hit by an inside pitch from Koehler. Desmond hollered at Koehler and spat toward the mound. Saltalamacchia then said something to Desmond, and their testy exchange began. Umpire Marty Foster stepped between them, and the confrontation didnt escalate. "I wasnt necessarily thinking that he had intentions of hitting me," Desmond said. "It wasnt intended to escalate to what it did, but was heat-of-the-moment stuff." Koehler said he went into the game mindful of the need to pitch inside against the Nationals. "Guys tend to get a little upset when they get crowded," Koehler said. "They had been attacking fastballs over the plate. Its our job as starters to make sure they know thats our part of the plate. Weve been beaten inside too many times late in the game in the last couple of series because we havent established inside." Stanton homered in the first inning, hit a two-run double in the fifth and scored three times. He came into the game ranked second in the majors in RBIs and now has 21. Hes batting .429 with runners in scoring position. Marcell Ozuna tied a career high with four hits, and Casey McGehee had three of the Marlins 15 hits. "We talked Monday about having guys step up," Redmond said. "We saw the entire team step up. We feel like our lineup can do a lot of damage, and I think you saw that tonight." The Marlins beat Washington for the first time in five tries this season, and for only the third time in 16 meetings since July. Zach Walters hit his first career homer in the ninth for the Nationals, who totalled five hits. Miami led 3-0 before Strasburg got an out. Christian Yelich and Ozuna singled, and Stanton followed with a homer to centre field. The Marlins added three more runs in the second. Adeiny Hechavarria led off with a triple on his 25th birthday, Ozuna singled home a run and McGehee hit a two-out, two-run single. Strasburg struck out five to increase his NL-leading total to 33, but his ERA rose to 6.00. The Marlins added five runs in the fifth to make it 11-0. "One of those games," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "But nonetheless its important that we play well, and we didnt. Thats troubling." NOTES: Nationals OF Denard Span (concussion) might be ready for a rehabilitation assignment by the end of the week, Williams said. ... Nationals OF Nate McLouth returned to the lineup after sitting out two games because of a sore left knee. ... Ozuna was back in the lineup after missing one start with a bruised foot. ... The Nationals Steven Souza singled for his first major league hit. ... Miami RHP Jose Fernandez tries to improve to 12-0 at home when he pitches Wednesday against Tanner Roark. Kevin Long Jersey . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday. Brian Goodwin Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. http://www.officialnationalsgearshop.com...ey-Kids-Jersey/. -- Kurt Buschs Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, in some ways, was like his career wrapped into one afternoon. Sean Doolittle Jersey .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time. Joaquin Benoit Jersey .9 million deal Thursday. The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. HARRISON, N.J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Cummings scored in the 104th minute to help the Dynamo oust the New York Red Bulls with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night. Cummings scored in the second minute of stoppage time on Sunday to give the Dynamo a 2-2 draw in the first leg. The Dynamo moved on with an aggregate score of 4-3. Houston will face Sporting Kansas City in the East finals, which start on Saturday. The Red Bulls led Sundays game 2-0 before Jamison Olave committed a foul that led to a red-card ejection and allowed Houston to rally for a 2-2 draw. "Its terrible, I guess you cant exorcise every game this year from this club," Red Bulls first-year coach Mike Petke said. "Hats off to Houston, theyre a playoff team and they proved it the last three years. We did it to ourselves these last two games. " On Wednesday night, Red Bulls defender Ibrahim Sekagyas errant pass led to the tying goal by Houston. "It was individual mistakes, and they happen," Petke said. Cummings came off the bench in both matches and Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear went to him in the 64th minute Wednesday. "I was trying to put some fresh legs closer to the goal and hope that something would come out of it and Omar has made me look good for two games in a row here," Kinnear said. Cummings got his foot on a ball that slipped past Red Bulls goalie Luis Robles at the near post. Houston, which won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups in its first two years in the league, reached the MLS Cup final in each of the past two seasons, losing in the final each time to the LL.ddddddddddddA. Galaxy. The Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on the first career playoff goal by Bradley Wright-Phillips. Lloyd Sam crossed the ball into the box and Dynamo goalie Tally Hall went down to grab it with two hands. But when he hit the ground, the ball squirted out of his grasp and Wright-Phillips was there to knock it into an open net from inside the 6-yard box. "I tried to pin it against the ground and it slipped out," Hall said. "Its a sinking feeling. Whether I made a mistake or not, I still have a job to do for the rest of the game. This team has a will to win like nothing Ive ever seen before. Thats why our jersey has two stars on it (2006 and 2007 MLS titles)." Hall made one of his best saves in the closing seconds of regulation when Thierry Henry hit a bicycle kick on goal, but the Houston goalie managed to block it with his leg. Houston took advantage of a Red Bulls mistake to tie it at 1-1 on a goal by Brad Davis. Sekagya attempted to clear the ball from the top of the penalty area by sending the ball across the middle. The rolling ball went right to the foot of Davis inside the box and he placed it past Robles. "The guy looked up and I knew he was going to try and play it across," Davis said. "Luckily he mishit it, I looked up and it was the goalie and me." The Red Bulls dominated Houston during the regular season, winning all three matches. But the Dynamo extended New Yorks playoff futility, making the Red Bulls winless in their past six playoff games. The Red Bulls had come into the playoffs with an eight-game unbeaten string of 6-0-2. ' ' '