WASHINGTON -- In the two games since the Nationals returned home after the All-Star break, the scoreboard at Nationals Park has displayed a +11 run differential over the Giants.
Washington topped San Francisco, 10-1, on Saturday with its highest-scoring victory since May 31 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
It was the second time this season Washington posted double digits against San Francisco, dating back to an 11-6 win on May 10 at Oracle Park.
“They’re seeing the ball, staying in the middle of the field, making good, solid contact, using the whole field,” said manager Dave Martinez. “They did a great job today. They faced a tough opponent today. We tried to get them to get the ball up, not chase. I thought we did a good job with that.”
The Nats chased Giants starter Logan Webb during a six-run second inning that set the tone for the game. Joey Meneses singled and Keibert Ruiz drew a walk to put Dominic Smith in position for an RBI single into center field. Corey Dickerson plated Ruiz on an RBI single to right, and Alex Call cleared the bases with a two-run triple, his first of the season.
On his bobblehead night, CJ Abrams pummeled a home run for the second game in a row, the first time he has accomplished that feat in his career. His 10th homer of the season ballooned the lead to 6-0 and prompted a Giants’ call to the bullpen.
“I knew going into it that even though they do chase a decent amount, they don’t swing and miss at all,” said Webb. “So it’s kind of a weird matchup for me. … It’s just a scrappy lineup, a scrappy team that gets into those good counts and took advantage of them today.”
The Nationals would have similar success against Sean Manaea in a four-run fourth frame. They batted around the order including RBIs from Lane Thomas, Jeimer Candelario, Ruiz and Smith.
On the night, Washington neared its season high in hits with 14, just shy of the 18 recorded twice (April 7 at Colorado, May 21 vs. Detroit).
“It just goes to show all of our hard work that we put in every day when we come to the ballpark, and it’s just paying off,” said Smith, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. “We have a young team, we work hard every day, and when opposing teams come in and give us a compliment that we’re a scrappy group and we’re hard to kind of put away, that’s a great compliment.”
Saturday’s win clinched the series and gave the Nationals their first consecutive home series victories on the season (they also swept the Rangers in Washington before the break). The Nats had not clinched back-to-back series at Nationals Park since June 14-20, 2021, facing the Pirates and Mets. They will go for consecutive home sweeps on Sunday.