By Tom Musick, The Sports Xchange
CHICAGO — Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Drew, Danny Espinosa and Jayson Werth belted home runs, and right-hander Max Scherzer pitched seven scoreless innings as the Washington Nationals cruised to an 11-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
Werth finished 3-for-5 with a walk, a home run and four RBIs as the Nationals scored double-digit runs for the third consecutive game. Espinosa, Bryce Harper and Ben Revere also contributed three hits apiece as Washington (36-23) earned its third straight win.
Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the White Sox. Chicago (29-30) lost its fifth consecutive game and fell below .500 for the first time this season.
Scherzer (7-4) took advantage of an early lead to post his third victory in the past four starts. Scherzer scattered five hits, walked one and struck out six.
Right-hander James Shields (2-8) managed only six outs in 84 pitches in his White Sox debut. Shields gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks four days after Chicago acquired him from the San Diego Padres for right-hander Erik Johnson and infield prospect Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Nationals added three more runs against right-hander David Robertson in the eighth inning. Werth hit a three-run shot over the left-field fence for his 10th home run.
White Sox outfielder J.B. Shuck made his first career pitching appearance in the ninth inning with the game out of reach. Werth notched his fourth RBI on a groundout that drove in Espinosa.
Chicago scored all four of its runs in the ninth inning. Cabrera, Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton each drove in runs.
Shields’ debut soured quickly as he gave up four runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Six of nine hitters in the Nationals’ lineup scored during their first time through the order.
In the first inning, Daniel Murphy opened the scoring when he drove in Jayson Werth with a single to left field. Wilson Ramos followed with a groundout that drove in Bryce Harper to make it 2-0.
Ryan Zimmerman ripped a two-run, line-drive home run over the left-field fence in the next at-bat to increase the lead to 4-0. Zimmerman turned on a 90 mph fastball over the middle of the plate for his ninth home run of the season and his eighth home run in the past month.
Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa led off the second inning with back-to-back home runs to give the Nationals a 6-0 advantage. Both Drew and Espinosa pulled pitches over the right-field fence.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura removed Shields after he allowed a single to Anthony Rendon to open the third inning. Fans booed the 11-year veteran as he walked off the mound. Shields’ replacement, right-hander Zach Putnam, surrendered a run-scoring single to Ben Revere soon after to increase the White Sox deficit to 7-0.
NOTES: White Sox SS Jimmy Rollins returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the series opener. Rollins, 37, entered Wednesday hitting .224 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 40 games. … Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy started at designated hitter for the first time this season. Murphy was replaced in the field by 2B Stephen Drew, who made his 12th start of the season. … White Sox manager Robin Ventura said RHP Zach Putnam was available out of the bullpen and no longer was experiencing arm soreness that bothered him for the past few days. … Nationals RHP Blake Treinen was not available to pitch Wednesday after throwing three scoreless innings one day earlier, manager Dusty Baker said. Treinen also might be unavailable for Thursday’s series finale, Baker said.