WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. homered in another ballpark and Brandon Claussen won another start.

Griffey's homer triggered a three-run seventh inning and Claussen won his fifth straight decision as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the punchless Washington Nationals , 5-3.

Griffey's homer was the 181st of the season for the Reds, who lead the National League in that department and won for the fifth time in seven games. They took two of three from the Nationals (66-61), who were denied matching last season's win total and continued to fall in the NL wild card race.

"It's not as fun as being in the pennant race, but if you can help send somebody home ... that's fun," Griffey said.

"Our offense is not putting enough pressure on the other team. We are getting out too easily," Nationals skipper Frank Robinson said.

The Reds were nursing a 2-1 lead when Griffey opened the seventh with his 30th homer this season and 531st career, moving him within three of Jimmie Foxx for 13th place on the all-time list. Griffey also took over sole possession of 39th place on the all-time RBI list with 1,530.

"I was overswinging earlier in the series," said Griffey, who has hit in 11 straight games. "I just tried not to swing too hard today, just tried to hit the ball where it was pitched. The first two days they were pounding me in and I was having trouble seeing the ball. Finally I just sit back and wait and got a couple of pitches I could hit."

RFK Stadium became the 40th ballpark in which Griffey has homered. The run scored was the 1,400th career for Griffey, who reached 30 homers for the first time since hitting 40 in 2000, his first year with Cincinnati.

"That just means I'm old," Griffey said. "I was fortunate enough to be able to play in ball parks when I was 19 and be able to hit them out."

"What is that - a hundred ballparks Griffey has homered in? Whatever it is, it's unbelievable," Reds manager Jerry Narron said.

Nationals starter Livan Hernandez (14-6) hit Adam Dunn with a pitch and was replaced by Joey Eischen , who surrendered a single to Sean Casey . Hector Carrasco came on and struck out Austin Kearns but threw a wild pitch that allowed Dunn to score and gave up an RBI double to Jason LaRue that made it 5-1.

Claussen (9-8) has not lost in six starts since July 23. The lefthander gave up one unearned run, six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five. During his streak, three wins have come on the road.

"I was just trying to stay aggressive in the strike zone and give us a chance to win the game," Claussen said. "The guys have been scoring some runs for me and we have been playing some great defense."

Claussen also liked pitching at the spacious RFK Stadium field.

"It's like a pasture out there. It's a very pitcher-friendly ballpark," he said. But still you have to keep the ball down."

"When he keeps the ball down he is very effective," Narron said. "I'm very happy with the way he pitched."

Matt Belisle stranded runners at the corners to end the sixth, Brandon Shackleford pitched the seventh and Todd Coffey worked the eighth.

After Brad Wilkerson 's two-run homer off Kent Mercker - Washington's NL-worst 96th of the season - David Weathers got the final two outs for his 11th save.

Griffey and Casey each had three hits and Kearns drove in two runs for the Reds, who improved to 5-1 vs. the Nationals this season.

Hernandez gave up four runs, 10 hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out five. The righthander has won just twice in his last 10 starts.

In the fifth, Griffey singled and came around on hits by Casey and Kearns as the Reds took a 2-1 lead.

"We've been pitching well on the last couple of road trips," Narron said. "If we keep doing that we have a chance to win no matter where we play."