Giants 8, Nationals 5
SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Duffy and Hunter Pence belted home runs to help offset Bryce Harper's 30th homer of the season Friday night, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a second consecutive victory over the Washington Nationals, 8-5.
Five Giants relievers rescued starter Matt Cain with 4 1/3 shutout innings as San Francisco won for the 11th time in its last 13 home games and improved to 3-1 on its current six-game homestand.
Harper's homer came in a four-run fifth inning that ended Cain's night and rallied the Nationals within 6-5.
But they managed only one more hit and couldn't score again against Giants relievers Jeremy Affeldt, George Kontos, Josh Osich, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez.
Affeldt (2-2) was credited with the win. Lopez, who got Harper to fly out to end the game, recorded his first save.
Duffy drove in three runs with three hits and center fielder Gregor Blanco had three hits, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs for the Giants, who led 6-1 after three innings and chased Nationals starter Max Scherzer at that point.
Two of Blanco's hits were doubles, the first of which came in a four-run second inning during which the Giants tied a West Coast franchise record with four two-base hits.
After the Nationals had gotten within 6-5, the Giants scored the final two runs of the game on an infield out by first baseman Brandon Belt in the sixth inning and a sacrifice fly by Duffy in the eighth.
Belt and right fielder Hunter Pence added two hits apiece for the Giants, who out-hit the Nationals 13-7.
Harper drove in a total of four runs and second baseman Danny Espinosa had a solo homer for the Nationals, who have lost four row and 18 of 28 since the All-Star break.
Left fielder Clint Robinson added two hits for Washington.
Scherzer (11-9), who last faced the Giants for Detroit in Game 4 of the 2012 World Series, a game won by San Francisco 4-3 in 10 innings to complete a four-game sweep, was roughed up for six runs on seven hits in three innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Scherzer's three-inning outing was his shortest of the season, and the six runs allowed were a season high.
It all came after he was staked to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a walk to center fielder Michael Taylor, a stolen base, an infield out and a sacrifice fly by Harper.
The Giants countered two batters into the bottom of the inning with Duffy's 10th homer of the season.
Then came the record-tying second, during which shortstop Brandon Crawford, left fielder Justin Maxwell, center fielder Gregor Blanco and Duffy accounted for the four doubles. Blanco's hit drove in two runs, and Maxwell and Duffy contributed an RBI apiece to the four-run inning that produced a 5-1 lead.
Pence's homer, his eighth of the season, came in the third and was the last of the seven hits allowed by Scherzer.
Down 6-1, the Nationals began their comeback in the top of the fifth when Espinosa belted his 11th home run of the year, a leadoff solo shot. Two outs later, Harper connected on his three-run shot into the right-field pavilion to get Washington within 6-5.
Cain was removed two batters later with runners on first and second, and left-hander Jeremy Affeldt retained the lead by getting Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond to ground out to second.
Cain was charged with five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.
NOTES: OF Jayson Werth, one of three Nationals starters from Thursday's series opener who were benched Friday, entered the game just 8-for-56 (.143) since being reinstated from the disabled list on July 28. ... Injured Nationals 2B Dan Uggla (back spasms) received his World Series championship ring from the Giants before the game. Uggla went 0-for-11 with a walk, a run scored and six strikeouts in four games for the Giants last July before getting waived. ... Giants GM Bobby Evans acknowledged his club has made an offer for Phillies 2B Chase Utley. The Giants figure to be without their All-Star 2B Joe Panik (lower-back inflammation) for at least the rest of the month.