Nationals 2, Giants 1
Doug Fister tossed seven scoreless innings to outduel Madison Bumgarner as visiting Washington defeated San Francisco for the second straight game.
Denard Span and Jayson Werth each drove in a run in the fifth inning for the Nationals, who have won nine of their last 11 contests. Fister (5-1) won his fifth consecutive start while allowing eight hits and one walk and Rafael Soriano permitted a run in the ninth before recording his 13th save.
Bumgarner (8-4) yielded two runs on eight hits with one walk over seven frames as his career-best six-game winning streak came to an end. Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-3 for San Francisco, which was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in losing its second in a row following a five-game winning streak.
Bumgarner cruised through the first four innings before running into trouble after Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa opened the fifth with back-to-back singles. The Nationals broke the scoreless tie as Span’s sacrifice fly plated one run and Werth’s two-out single to left field scored Espinosa from second base.
Fister’s outing marked the 11th consecutive quality start by Washington’s rotation, which has posted a 1.08 ERA over the last eight games. The Giants threatened in the ninth when Brandon Crawford hit a leadoff triple and scored on Brandon Hicks' groundout, but Soriano retired pinch hitter Hector Sanchez and Angel Pagan to end the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Washington 3B Anthony Rendon returned after missing the previous three games with a swollen right hand and singled twice in four at-bats. … Pagan, who was held out of the starting lineup the previous two games with a bruised right shin, batted leadoff and went 1-for-5. ... Nationals C Wilson Ramos left the game with a tight hamstring after sliding into second base in the ninth inning.