The Nationals completed a sweep as the Giants slide continued

July 23, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Lane Thomas (28) stole second base ahead of a tag by San Francisco Giants second baseman Brett Wisely (70) during the first inning at Nationals Park. Image: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

MacKenzie Gore hit five closing innings and Riley Adams hit a home run as the Washington Nationals completed their first series sweep of the season by beating the visiting San Francisco Giants 6-1 on Sunday.

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Lane Thomas had three hits, scored two hits, went in one hit and stole four bases as the Nationals earned their fourth straight win in three games of the season. The Giants lost five games in a row for the first time since April

Joc Pederson hit a home run in the seventh inning for San Francisco for his second homer of the series and his 10th of the season.

But the Giants managed to pull off a bit more offense. They scored five runs in three games at Washington, and had only eight runs during a five-game skid

Gore (6-7) hit eight and walked two while hitting four. He recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since starting the season 2-0 in early April.

Four relievers finished the job by an innings apiece. Amos Willingham handed Pederson a blast.

Scott Alexander was used as the opener for the Giants. He allowed two of the four batters he faced to hit base on hit and they both scored. Anthony DeSclafani took over and had 4 1/3 innings, filled with four runs and eight hits

Dominic Smith’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning opened the scoring. The Nationals added to the lead with a Stone Garrett double in the third quarter

A two round fourth was capped by an RBI double over Lane Thomas for a 5-0 lead. Adams hit his fourth home run of the season with two outs in the fifth from DeSclafani, giving the infrequently used catcher his first homer in over a month.

Smith, Adams and Luis Garcia all racked up two hits for Washington.

Wilmer Flores had two hits, including two goals, for San Francisco, which won its first five games after the All-Star break before its current slump.

–Field Level Media