Nationals 6, Brewers 1
WASHINGTON -- Joe Ross won the battle of rookie right-handed starters, battery mate Wilson Ramos broke out of a slump and Anthony Rendon had a double and homer as the Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1 on Saturday.
The Nationals (61-61), who began the day five games back of the first-place New York Mets, won for just the third time in 11 games. The Brewers (53-71) fell to 25-33 on the road and 16-13 against the National League East.
Ross (4-5), in his 10th career start, allowed one run in seven innings to get the win while Brewers starter Taylor Jungmann (7-5) gave up a season-high five runs. Called up from Double-A in June, Ross yielded just six hits and no walks with four strikeouts while throwing just 82 pitches.
Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless eighth for the Nationals and Matt Thornton got the last three outs in the ninth as Rendon caught a liner for the third out at third with a runner on base.
Rendon, who also drew two walks, hit a solo homer in the seventh to give the Nationals a 6-1 lead. It was the second homer of the year for the injury-plagued Rendon, who hit 21 homers last season.
Catcher Ramos added two hits, including an RBI double, and scored twice after he entered the game with an average of .136 in his last seven contests.
Brewers left fielder Khris Davis broke up the shutout by Ross with a solo homer in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 5-1.
Washington left fielder Jayson Werth, not in the original lineup, had two hits in the leadoff spot. Michael A. Taylor, the center fielder, scored twice and had two hits, including a two-run homer, for the Nationals. Brewers shortstop Jean Segura had two hits.
Taylor hit a two-run homer with two outs in the second to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead. His 13th homer of the year also scored Ramos, who had singled.
Jungmann had not allowed a homer in his previous eight starts. The last long ball he gave up was June 30 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jungmann has allowed three homers in 84 2/3 innings this season.
The Nationals scored three runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. Ramos had an RBI double down the left-field line, Werth drove in a run with a bloop single to center and Rendon had an RBI double to left. On Rendon's hit, Werth was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Jungmann gave up seven hits and five runs in four innings before he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth. The rookie entered the game with a 2.23 ERA in 13 starts, and the most earned runs he had given up before Saturday had been four (June 19 at Colorado).
Washington rookie right-hander Ross, in the 10th start of his career, gave up no runs and four hits in the first five innings.
NOTES: Nationals RHP Jordan Zimmermann (9-8, 3.44) will pitch against his home-state Brewers on Sunday in the series finale. He will face veteran RHP Matt Garza (6-13, 4.98 ERA). ... Brewers hitting coach Darnell Coles is a former instructor in the minor league system of the Nationals (2006-09). ... Milwaukee RHP reliever Jeremy Jeffress is a native of South Boston, Va., and was drafted in the first round by the Brewers in 2006. He entered Saturday with a 3-0 record and 3.00 ERA in 54 games out of the bullpen. ... Washington RF Bryce Harper entered Saturday with a league-high 31 home runs and had reached base in 104 of 114 games this season. Since early May, he had been held hitless in back-to-back games only twice.