Werth, Rendon lead Nationals' victory over Indians
WASHINGTON -- Jayson Werth had a three-run homer and a double and scored three times, Anthony Rendon added two doubles, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Cleveland Indians 7-4 on Wednesday, earning a split of the series between division leaders.
After being held to one run in each of their past two games, the Nationals pounded out 11 hits despite playing their third straight game without right fielder Bryce Harper, who remains sidelined with a stiff neck.
Washington (67-46) broke a 4-4 tie with a three-run fifth.
Trea Turner doubled leading off the inning against Josh Tomlin (11-5), and Werth walked. Daniel Murphy doubled on a shot to the wall that deflected off right fielder Abraham Almonte's glove, scoring Turner.
Two batters later Rendon smashed a grounder just inside the third-base bag and Werth and Murphy came home.
Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer for Cleveland (63-48) and Jose Ramirez had three hits, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona was back in the dugout after missing Tuesday night's game for medical reasons.
Gio Gonzalez (8-9) got the win despite being charged with four runs on seven hits in five-plus innings.
Reliever Matt Belisle worked out of a jam with two on and no outs in the sixth, and Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.
Tomlin failed to get through five innings for the second straight start. He left after the first three Nationals reached base in the fifth and was charged with seven runs on eight hits.
In contrast to Tuesday night's pitchers' duel, balls were flying all over Nationals Park early in Wednesday's contest, a late afternoon start in 90-degree heat.
Almonte lost Werth's first-inning fly ball in the sun, resulting in a ground-rule double, and Wilson Ramos later singled Werth home.
Almonte redeemed himself with an RBI double in the top of the second.
After giving up two singles, Tomlin got two outs in the bottom of the second before Werth struck again, launching a 2-1 pitch into the visitor's bullpen for his 15th homer of the season and second in as many games.
Gonzalez, who entered with a 1.07 ERA in eight career starts versus Cleveland, couldn't hold the 4-1 lead.
With two outs and runner on base in the third, Lindor connected on a 3-2 pitch for his 14th homer. Mike Napoli and Ramirez then hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game.
NOTES: Washington OF Brian Goodwin, who is the 34th overall pick in the 2011 draft, made his first major-league start by replacing Bryce Harper in RF. Harper was held out of the starting lineup for the third straight game with a stiff neck. ... It was a homecoming for Cleveland's LF Brandon Guyer, a native of nearby Herndon, Va. Guyer played collegiately at the University of Virginia. ... The Indians began the day 11-11 since the All-Star break. ... Washington's defense came into the game with a .989 fielding percentage, tied with Houston for tops in the majors. ... RHP Corey Kluber (11-8, 3.22 ERA) opposes RHP Jhoulys Chacin (3-7, 5.27 ERA) on Thursday when the Indians kick off an 11-game homestand versus the Los Angeles Angels. The Nationals host the Braves for three games starting Friday.