Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run homer and he and Stone Garrett each had three hits on the visit Washington nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 Monday evening
Jeimer Candelario also hit a two-run homer for one of his two hits and Luis Garcia added two RBIs as Nationals dominated Chicago for the fourth straight time this season
MacKenzie Gore (5-7) allowed five runs, six hits and two walks while striking out six in 6 1/3 innings as Washington improved to 23-24 on the road despite finishing last in the the National League East.
Two of Gore’s allowed hits were two-run homers by Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom, but Chicago fell to 1-3 from the All-Star break and dropped for the ninth time in their last 11 home games.
Cubs starter Drew Smyly (7-7) drove in five runs and eight hits while stoking seven and walking one in six innings
Washington took advantage of Smyly’s first inning inefficiency. The southpaw hit first in CJ Abrams with a pitch, and two batters later, ex-Cub Candelario homered into the basket in the left field bleacher. The homer was Candelario’s 14th of the season.
Chicago had a run in the second. Cody Bellinger (two hits) hit a single in the field, went second on the walk to Yan Gomes and scored on Christopher Morel’s hit.
Smyly settled in before Ruiz opened the fourth with a walk, moved up to third on Garrett’s first double of the night and scored on Dominic Smith’s field. Garcia followed with a line drive RBI single off second baseman Morel’s glove for a 4-1 Nationals advantage
Washington added a run in the sixth when center fielder Bellinger lost a fly ball from Garrett’s bat, resulting in another brace. Garrett eventually scored on Garcia’s fly ball which Bellinger caught.
Gore has retired 10 times in a row Cubs until Seiya Suzuki led in the bottom of the sixth with a single. Happ followed with his first right-handed homer this season, his eighth overall
In the seventh, Ruiz drove a pitch from Daniel Palencia into the right field bleachers with a man for his 11th home run.
Wisdom chased Gore when he went wide with a runner in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the deficit to 7-5. It was his 16th home run of the year.
Washington’s Kyle Finnegan pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his 12th save.
–Field-Level Media
