Andres Chaparro and Nasim Nunez hit their first home runs of the season and James Wood added a three-run shot as the visiting Washington Nationals rolled past the Boston Red Sox 10-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
Chaparro’s two-run shot in the first inning and Nunez’s fourth-inning solo shot were all that Washington needed to claim the series. Four Nationals had multi-hit games, while Wood, Chaparro and Luis Garcia Jr. each drove in multiple runs.
Andrew Alvarez (2-1) allowed two hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief work to record the win.
Washington had a 13-9 hits advantage. Three Red Sox players had multi-hit games, but their pitchers issued a combined 10 walks.
The Nationals wasted little time hitting Red Sox starter Payton Tolle (4-6), taking a 2-0 lead on Chaparro’s homer to left-center. Curtis Mead belted a one-out triple off the center-field wall to set up the go-ahead homer.
Run-scoring opportunities were squandered by Boston in two of the first three innings. After a Wilyer Abreu single and a four-pitch walk to Willson Contreras in his first at-bat since being ejected for a Tuesday fight with Nationals starter Cade Cavalli, the Red Sox stranded two on with two outs in the first.
Boston appeared to get on the board in the third, but Abreu’s fielder’s choice grounder to score Connor Wong was reversed after review into an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play.
Tolle struck out two in both the second and third innings, but ran into big trouble while being chased without recording an out in Washington’s five-run fourth.
The first pitch of the inning was lofted by Nunez over the Green Monster in left-center.
After Drew Millas singled and Tolle issued back-to-back walks, Garcia greeted reliever Ryan Watson with a two-run single to left. A Dylan Crews infield single then loaded the bases before Daylen Lile’s double play and a Jacob Young RBI double upped the Nationals’ lead to 7-0.
Tolle allowed a season-high six runs on seven hits over three-plus innings, striking out five and walking three.
With Alvarez working in long relief behind opener Brad Lord, a Nate Eaton hit batter and Andruw Monasterio double gave the Red Sox two immediate runners in scoring position in the fifth. Alvarez escaped the jam, though, with a pair of strikeouts and a fielder’s choice.
In the seventh, Wood padded the lead further against Boston reliever Jovani Moran with his 22nd homer, making it 10-1.
After Ceddanne Rafaela, Contreras and Romy Gonzalez singled to load the bases in the eighth for Boston, Caleb Durbin’s bases-loaded walk broke the shutout. Eaton’s fielder’s choice grounder made it 10-2.
–Field Level Media
