WASHINGTON -- The crack of the bats rang through Nationals Park Wednesday afternoon, as the Nats delivered a season-best offensive performance in the series finale against the White Sox.
The Nationals clinched their 20th series of the year with a lopsided 13-3 win. They have not lost a series to the White Sox since June 2010.
Led by a grand slam from Lane Thomas, as well as homers from Dominic Smith and Joey Meneses, Washington passed its previous mark of 12 runs scored on May 26 at Kansas City.
“It’s great any time we can score some runs early, score a lot of runs and pitch well,” said Smith. “Those games are fun, those are my favorite games and it was a good game to be a part of for sure.”
Thomas: Grand slam
Thomas wasn’t pleased after going 0-for-3 on Tuesday, and he came into Wednesday’s matinee with some advice from his wife, Chase, about his pitch selection.
“I got in the car last night and I was kind of in a bad mood,” Thomas said. “And she was just like, ‘Suck it up and stop swinging at those pitches.’ I was kind of surprised that came out of her mouth. I was like, ‘I can’t have her yelling at me after the game (laughs).’”
In spite of his career-best hitting this season, Thomas entered the game batting 1-for-13 with the bases loaded. Make that 2-for-14 now -- with a grand slam. Thomas rocked a curveball from right-hander Jesse Scholtens a projected 425 feet to left field at 107.4 mph in the third inning.
It was Thomas’ second career grand slam, dating back to Aug. 11, 2019, as a rookie on the Cardinals against the Pirates. The slam also was the Nationals’ fourth of the season, joining CJ Abrams (April 27 at Mets) and Stone Garrett (twice, June 6 vs. D-backs and July 2 at Phillies).
Thomas has belted a team-high 26 homers this season. He is also one stolen base shy of the Nats sixth 20-20 season in team history (2005-present).
Smith: Two home runs in series
Smith tallied his second two-homer series of the month by going yard against the White Sox on Monday and Wednesday. Smith’s solo home run off Scholtens in the fourth inning traveled 391 feet to left-center field at 100.6 mph.
Last week, Smith homered twice versus the Pirates. He has hit five home runs in one month for the first time since July of 2021 with the Mets. Among National League first basemen, only Matt Olson of the Braves and Pete Alonso of the Mets have hit more homers in September.
“He’s staying in on his legs and he’s starting to drive the ball a lot better,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He’s really trying to stay in the middle of the field as well, which is great. He’s worked all year to try to get that swing. I’m glad it’s working out for him right now.”
Smith has tied a career high with 11 homers, compared to zero last season.
Meneses: Homers in back-to-back games
Meneses went yard for the second game in a row, following up on a pinch-hit, go-ahead dinger in Tuesday’s win. In the fifth inning, Meneses worked a full-count before blasting a fastball 410 feet off righty Deivi García. It soared out to left field at 107.9 mph to drive in Thomas.
Meneses improved to hitting .365 with runners in scoring position, tied for fourth-best in all of baseball among qualified players.
“He’s getting down on the baseball,” Martinez said. “It’s really, really nice. … He’s been frustrated about not hitting home runs, but the guy can drive in runs. He’s drove in some big runs for us all year long. I’ve said, ‘Last year, you hit home runs. This year, it hasn’t come yet but it’s in there, we know it’s in there. But you’ve got to stay back and use your legs and not jump forward.’ He’s been doing that the last couple days.”
Meneses previously homered in consecutive games this season during a three-day stretch against the Rangers (July 7-9).