The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO–Washington manager Dave Martinez insisted Trea Turner and the Nationals would snap from their scoring slump soon–even as the losses piled up and the runs didn’t.
Behind three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, Washington didn’t need much but got plenty.
Turner got five hits, and Matt Adams homered and drove in six runs, as the Nationals broke out of their offensive funk in a big way, routing the San Francisco Giants 15-2 yesterday afternoon to end a four-game losing streak.
“That was fun,” Martinez said after his team dodged a three-game sweep. “The boys came out to play.
“They’ve been swinging the bats well,” he noted. “Today we just got hits, the timely hits.
“It was good day for all of them.”
The Nationals had totalled just eight runs during their skid.
Andrew Stevenson had two doubles, two singles, and four RBIs yesterday as Washington set season highs for runs and hits (18).
Turner came into the game batting .232, and the lead-off man’s slow start had contributed to the Nationals’ struggles.
He raised his batting average 35 points, tying a career high for hits in a game.
He also scored twice, drove in two runs, and stole his 10th base this season.
“We know that this is what the offence is capable of doing,” Adams said.
“If we go out there and have quality ABs like we have been, things are going to start falling and they did today.”
Adams matched his career best for RBIs. He singled as part of a three-run first, put the Nationals up 6-1 with a three-run homer off Jeff Samardzija (1-1) in the fourth, and added a two-run single in the eighth.
The Nationals scored 14 of their 15 runs with two outs.
“This could actually jumpstart our offence,” Martinez said.
Martinez’s club has been stunted by a rash of injuries this season but salvaged the final game of the three-game series at AT&T Park to end a rough 4-5 road trip.
Scherzer (5-1) did his part, striking out 10 in six innings.
Scherzer earned his fourth-straight win, all of them coming after a Washington loss.
“Our bats just came out and we got contributions up and down the line today,” Scherzer noted.
“When you get that as a starting pitcher, you just want to go out there and put up those zeroes, get the offence back in, and have everybody run to that bat rack.”
Elsewhere in the NL, Colorado beat San Diego 5-2, Atlanta edged Cincinnati 5-4, Philadelphia downed Arizona 5-3, Miami topped L.A. 8-6, and St. Louis dumped New York 9-1.
In interleague play, Cleveland beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1, Milwaukee downed Kansas City 6-2, and Detroit split a doubleheader with Pittsburgh, winning the opener 13-10 and then losing the nightcap 8-3.
