All-Star Game 2012: Nationals Bryce Harper, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg contribute to NL's 8-0 victory KANSAS CITY, Mo. - They stood along the third base line at Kaufmann Stadium, at the very end of the line for alphabetical reasons only. The stadium lights glimmered off Bryce Harper's gold spikes as the crowd roared for his introduction. Stephen Strasburg forgot to remove his cap when the announcer called his name. Gio Gonzalez grinned. Somewhere in the stadium, owner Ted Lerner watched in person. For the first time, three Washington Nationals stood together at the All-Star Game. By the end of the night, the Nationals" contingent had each made contributions, in their own styles, to the National League's 8-0 thumping of the American League. Gonzalez, the left-hander who is tied for the major league lead in wins, fired perhaps the best inning all night. Strasburg added another scoreless frame, if not as dominant. And Harper, the youngest position player ever to appear in an All-Star Game, managed to stand out. He walked and took second base on a fly ball to left field, only to be caught in a rundown. He lost a fly ball in the lights, and then he struck out in his second at-bat. By the time Harper entered the game, the National League had already decided the result. It bashed American League ace Justin Verlander for five runs in the first inning and cruised to the most lopsided victory since 1983, when the American League won, 13-3. The victory gave homefield advantage in the World Series to the NL, which could affect the Nationals, who have the best record in the National League. The team with home-field advantage has won 24 of the past 31 World Series and nine consecutive Game 7s. Take a moment to dream, if you'd like, and imagine Nationals Park hosting the first or decisive game of the World Series. Their starters helped the cause. Gonzalez entered in the third inning, replacing starter Matt Cain and staked to a 5-0 lead. Before his first pitch, Gonzalez took a deep breath, perhaps in tribute to Ian Desmond. The Nationals" all-star shortstop had to pull out of the game with a strained oblique, but he frequently visits Gonzalez during starts to tell him to slow down and breathe. Gonzalez had no reason to worry. He struck out Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli on four pitches, touching 95 mph with his fastball and finishing him off with an outside curveball, which Napoli swung over. Gonzalez induced a lazy fly to left by Curtis Granderson and then Derek Jeter bounced the first pitch he saw to second base. Gonzalez needed 11 pitches, seven of them strikes, for a 1-2-3 inning. NL Manager Tony LaRussa stacked the Nationals" two starters. Strasburg entered in the fourth with a juicy set of matchups: Robinson Cano, Josh Hamilton and Jose Bautista were due up. Insane! Strasburg later tweeted. Strasburg started out throwing his fastball at 95 mph and reached 98. Cano led off the inning with a sharp single up the middle, and Strasburg erased him when Hamilton one-hopped into a double play. He pitched carefully around Bautista, who in Toronto this year hit a home run off him, and walked him.