Nats Sweep Day/Night Doubleheader
By Scott Bline
Mandatory Credit: Stan Liu-USA TODAY Sports
The Nationals won 7-2 Saturday evening, taking both games in Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader and helping rookie Blake Treinen (1-3) earn the win against the Cubs and Jeff Samardzija (2-7).
Adam LaRoche led off the scoring for the Nats in the second, hitting his 11th home run of the year. Anthony Rendon made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third. The Cubs Luis Valbuena tied it up in the fourth, hitting a two-run home run, his fifth on the season, just prior to the game being delayed by rain.
After the delay, Wilson Ramos drove the first pitch thrown by Samardzija to left-center for his second home run of the year. The Nats then made the score 6-2 with RBI singles by Kevin Frandsen and Jayson Werth and an error by Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. LaRoche’s RBI single in the ninth made it 7-2.
Treinen earned his first big league win, pitching five innings while allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk with three strike outs. For Treinen, it was his fifth start of the season, and in all five starts, he has yet to allow more than two earned runs. He did allow three unearned against the Dodgers.
Opposite Treinen, the oft mentioned trade candidate Samardzija went five innings as well, but he allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits while striking out six.
Ross Detwiler pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first career save.
Nate McLouth, who went 2-for-4 in game one of the doubleheader, went 2-for-3 in the second game with two doubles, scoring two runs and playing well in center. Frandsen went 2-for-3, starting at second base in both games. Rendon now has 46 RBIs on the season, tied with Ian Desmond for the team lead and tied for ninth in the NL. LaRoche finished 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.
At the midway point in the season, the Nats are 43-38, two games better than last season. They are tied with the Braves for first in the East.
The Nats split the four-game series with the Cubs, finishing their seven game road trip 4-3. Prior to winning both games Saturday, the Nats had lost three in a row. The Nats will see the Cubs in Washington for a three game series next weekend.