WASHINGTON -AP- A one-sided win for theWashington Nationals still included two impressive comebacks.Max Scherzer overpowered Giancarlo Stanton in his return from a neck injury,Jayson Werth homered in his first game since June and the Nationals beat theMiami Marlins 11-2 on Monday night.
Scherzer (13-5) allowed one run and five hits, including Christian Yelich's home run, and had 10 strikeouts in his first start since Aug. 13.Jayson Werth returned from a foot contusion he suffered on June 5 and had a two-run homer off Jose Urena (12-6)."It was a great comeback," Nationals manager said of Werth. "You couldn't have drawn it up any better than that."Scherzer's game plan worked spectacularly against Stanton, who on Monday was named NL Player of the Week for the second time this month. One day after becoming the first NL player to hit 50 home runs in a season since Prince Fielder in 2007, the slugger went 0 for 3 against Scherzer with two strikeouts and a double-play grounder.Howie Kendrick hit a three-run triple, and Matt Wieters added a two-run single in the decisive sixth for an 11-1 lead as Washington halted Miami's four-game winning streak.The Marlins have won 13 of 17, with the four losses by an average of 7.25 runs."It was just one of those games for us," manager Don Mattingly said. "It's just a matter of us bouncing back. Our last few losses have been just like this, it seems like."Stanton batted .448 (13 for 29) with five homers and 11 RBI last week."He can take you deep at any moment, but you can't really worry about that," Scherzer said. "You have to have the belief that you can make pitches and get him out."The two-time Cy Young award winner missed two starts with inflammation in the left side of his neck. Scherzer threw 100 pitches, struck out at least 10 batters for the 14th time this season and lowered his ERA against the Marlins to 1.17 over four starts.Werth, 38, missed 75 games after fouling a ball off his foot at Oakland. He was activated Monday from the 60-day DL following a six-game rehab assignment. His blast in the fourth put Washington up 4-1 after Miami scored in the top half of the inning on Yelich's homer.Werth later singled as Washington loaded the bases in the sixth against relieverDustin McGowan. All three scored after Yelich misplayed Kendrick's sinking liner and the ball scooted to the wall.Urena threw 94 pitches in four innings, allowing four runs and five hits with three walks. The right-hander was 3-0 with 2.95 ERA in four previous starts this month.Miami entered the series 4 1/2 games behind Colorado for the second wild card spot.
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