By Jeremy Kahn

What was supposed to be a pitchers duel between two of the great pitchers in baseball today turned out be a dud.

Michael A. Taylor hit the first pitch thrown by Madison Bumgarner into the seats for a home run, and then two batters later Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run and the Washington Nationals defeated the San Francisco Giants 9-3 at Nationals Park.

Bumgarner’s opposite number, Stephen Strasburg, who was making his third start after missing nearly four weeks on the disabled list with neck tightness was forced to leave the game with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Strasburg left the game after wincing and grabbing his left side after trying to get to a Buster a Posey ground ball. After speaking with manager Matt Williams and a team trainer, Strasburg left the game.

In 3.2 innings of work, Strasburg gave up just one hit to the struggling Giants, who have lost the first five games of their six-game road trip.

Bumgarner lasted only five innings, as he allowed a season-high five runs on eight hits.

Yunel Escobar nearly made it two for two pitches following Taylor’s home run; however his double smacked off the center field wall. Just three pitches later, Harper hit his 25th home run of the season.

Both Harper and Tyler Moore each picked up three hits for the Nationals, while Moore also drove in four runs.

Tanner Roark pitched 4.1 innings after replacing Strasburg to pickup his fourth win of the season for the Nationals.

Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco and Brandon Belt each picked up a run batted in for the Giants.