WASHINGTON (Interstat) – Foster Griffin pitched 7 1/3 innings of four-hit ball, striking out nine, and Curtis Mead hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Monday night at Nationals Park.

The Nationals improved to 41-38, winning for the fourth time in five games. The Phillies dropped to 42-36, snapping a two-game winning streak.

Griffin, who earned his eighth win against two losses, allowed only one earned run and walked none. He retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before running into trouble in the seventh. Clayton Beeter pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.

Washington struck first in the bottom of the first inning. James Wood led off with a double that deflected off first baseman Bryce Harper’s glove and rolled into right field. After Curtis Mead flied out to center, Dylan Crews lined a single to left field that scored Wood, giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

The Nationals added a run in the second inning. Luis García Jr. launched a solo home run to right-center field, his 11th of the season, for a 2-0 advantage. Nasim Nuñez followed with a bunt single before James Wood struck out and Mead popped out.

Philadelphia’s offense struggled to generate any sustained threat against Griffin. The Phillies managed only one hit through the first four innings – a single by Harper in the first inning – and struck out eight times in that span. Griffin worked around a double by Derek Hill in the fifth, stranding Hill at third base.

The Phillies finally broke through in the seventh inning. With one out, Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run to right field, his 10th of the year, cutting Washington’s lead to 2-1. But the Nationals answered immediately in the bottom half.

James Wood singled sharply to center field off reliever Seth Johnson. Mead then crushed a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run homer, his 12th of the season, extending Washington’s lead to 4-1. Mead’s blast was the decisive blow in a game that had been a pitcher’s duel.

Griffin returned for the eighth inning and retired the side in order, striking out Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber to finish his night with 7 1/3 innings, four hits, one earned run and nine strikeouts. Richard Lovelady recorded the final two outs of the eighth, striking out two batters.

Beeter entered in the ninth and allowed a one-out single to Harper but induced Alec Bohm to ground into a double play. Justin Crawford struck out swinging to end the game.

Washington outhit Philadelphia 12-5. Keibert Ruiz went 2 for 3 with a double and was hit by a pitch. Nasim Nuñez collected two hits and scored once. Dylan Crews finished 2 for 5 with an RBI. García Jr. and James Wood each had one hit.

For Philadelphia, Harper had two singles and Marsh homered. The Phillies left five runners on base and struck out 14 times.

The game marked the first meeting between the two teams since the Nationals took two of three in Philadelphia at the end of March. The Phillies had won four of their previous five games entering the night, including a 15-3 rout of the New York Mets on Saturday. Washington had split a two-game series at Tampa Bay over the weekend.

Both teams continue the four-game series Tuesday night at Nationals Park. The Phillies then travel to New York for a weekend set against the Mets, while the Nationals head to Baltimore for a three-game series against the Orioles.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington Nationals 6, Philadelphia Phillies 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Philadelphia with a 58.10 percent probability to win. Philadelphia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 10.