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Jackson strikes out eight in 5 1/3 frames

With Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann ahead of him in the Nationals' rotation, it's easy for Edwin Jackson to go unnoticed.

Jackson is just 6-7 in 21 starts this season, though his 3.56 ERA has made him a valuable part of the Nats' dominant pitching staff. The 28-year-old right-hander will take the mound for the Nationals on Saturday at Chase Field, looking for his first win against the D-backs since they dealt him at the 2010 Trade Deadline -- not to mention the Nats' eighth straight victory.

Jackson struck out eight on Monday in Houston, but he worked up his pitch count to 106, ending his night after 5 1/3 innings and leaving him to settle for a no-decision in the Nats' 5-4 win over the Astros.

"Definitely, I have to do a better job of getting ahead in the count early and putting people away," Jackson said. "I went deep into counts, I want to say seven three-ball counts. That's a lot. I ran the pitch count up. A lot of them I got out of, but I've just got to do a better job of coming out and attacking the strike zone."

Arizona has lost five of its last seven after a four-game winning streak last week brought them to within two games of the division lead. Left-hander Wade Miley will start opposite Jackson.

Nationals: Morse keeps hitting streak going, even after scoring change
Had a scoring change made on Friday afternoon not changed a single on Aug. 2 against the Phillies into an error on shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Michael Morse would be enjoying a 19-game hitting streak. Instead, the 30-year-old outfielder has hit in eight straight.

Morse is tied with Danny Espinosa for fourth on the Nats with 11 home runs, and his .297 batting average leads the team.

D-backs: Miley making case for NL's top rookie
Through 19 starts, Miley has carved himself a nice role in the D-backs' rotation. After going 4-2 in eight appearances in 2011 while not burning his rookie status, Miley has improved to 12-7 with a 2.85 ERA this season. The 25-year-old left-hander has allowed just one earned run over his last 14 innings. On Monday, Miley took a tough-luck loss after allowing one unearned run on six hits in six innings of a 4-0 loss to the Pirates.

"Wade has been really consistent for us, he's thrown the ball well, he executes the game plan very good and he's ERA is down below 3 right now," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "He's had a pretty good year for us. Wade has obviously been great."

Worth noting
• The Nationals' seven-game winning streak is their longest this season.

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