Updated

Ted Lilly overcame a rough start to win his second straight outing with Los Angeles, and the Dodgers capitalized on two Washington errors during a four-run first in an 8-3 victory over the Nationals on Sunday.

Lilly (5-8) pitched six innings in his 300th major league game and 275th start, allowing three runs and six hits, including back-to-back homers by Michael Morse and Justin Maxwell in the second. The left-hander struck out six and walked none while winning consecutive starts for the first time this season.

Lilly was 3-8 in 18 games with the Chicago Cubs before he was traded to Los Angeles on July 31 with second baseman Ryan Theriot.

Jason Marquis (0-4) returned to Washington's rotation after spending 3½ months on the disabled list because of bone chips in his elbow that required surgery on May 14. The right-hander was charged with five runs — two earned — and five hits in four-plus innings.

Before the game, the Dodgers purchased the contract of outfielder-first baseman Jay Gibbons from Triple-A Albuquerque and designated 17-year veteran and three-time All-Star outfielder Garret Anderson for assignment. Gibbons, hitting for Lilly, singled home a run in the sixth, giving Los Angeles a 6-3 lead.

It was Gibbons' first plate appearance in the majors since Aug. 12, 2007, with the Baltimore Orioles, when he struck out as a pinch hitter against Boston's Manny Delcarmen.

Gibbons, one of several players implicated in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in December 2007, received a 15-game suspension a week before the report was released. He was later granted amnesty as part of an agreement between the players' union and the owners for more frequent testing and increased authority for the major league drug program's outside administrator.

Scott Podsednik drew a leadoff walk in the first inning and stole second before Marquis misplayed Theriot's sacrifice for an error. Second baseman Alberto Gonzalez then mishandled the throw from catcher Wil Nieves on a steal by Theriot for an error that allowed Podsednik to dash home. James Loney followed a walk to Andre Ethier with an RBI single, and Jamey Carroll capped the rally with a two-run single.

The Nationals got back two of the runs in the second on Morse's eighth homer and Maxwell's second, which brought the total allowed this season by Lilly to 22. Last Tuesday, Lilly allowed just two hits over seven innings and retired his last 20 batters in a 2-1 win against San Diego.

Los Angels increased its lead to 5-2 in the fourth with A.J. Ellis' RBI double. Pinch-hitter Reed Johnson drove in the Dodgers' final two runs with an eighth-inning single.

NOTES: The Dodgers could do no better than a split of their six-game season series with the Nationals, who at 49-63 have the worst record in the NL East. ... The only other time this season that a Dodgers opponent hit back-to-back homers was May 19, when San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley connected against reliever Ramon Troncoso in a 10-5 victory at Los Angeles that snapped the Dodgers' nine-game winning streak. ... The Nationals have hit back-to-back homers on three occasions this season, each time with two different players. ... The Nationals are 82-105 since Jim Riggleman replaced Manny Acta as manager on July 13, 2009.