Alex Call and Jeimer Candelario hit back-to-back homers opening the game, CJ Abrams, Victor Robles and Lane Thomas each had three of Washington’s 19 hits and the Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 10-5 in Denver on Friday.
MacKenzie Gore tossed six solid innings and Dominic Smith, Keibert Ruiz, Joey Meneses and Luis Garcia had two hits for Washington. Garcia left the game in the sixth after grounding out to end the inning, appearing to sustain a leg injury.
Gore (2-0) allowed five hits and two walks while fanning six in his second straight win to open the season.
Ryan McMahon homered and Charlie Blackmon and Yonathan Daza had two hits each for Colorado.
Call hit the fourth pitch he saw from Jose Urena into the seats in left, his first of the season, and Candelario followed with his second home run of 2023 to put the Nationals ahead 2-0. Washington doubled its season total in homers with the two solo shots.
The Nationals added two more runs in the second inning. Garcia, Thomas and Abrams began the frame with singles to load the bases. Garcia came home on a one-out walk to Call, and a Candelario sacrifice fly drove in Thomas to make it 4-0.
Colorado got one back in the bottom of the inning on McMahon’s home run, his second on the year.
Washington extended its lead in the third after Urena retired the first two batters. Garcia singled, Thomas reached on an error and both scored on a triple by Abrams.
Urena (0-2) left after walking Robles. He allowed six runs, four earned, on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Urena walked three and fanned one.
The Rockies got a run in the fourth when Daza’s single to right brought home Elehuris Montero, but the Nationals answered in the fifth. Thomas singled and Abrams hit an RBI triple before scoring on Call’s sacrifice fly to make it 8-2.
Colorado rallied in the seventh to make it close. Two singles and Ezequiel Tovar’s double brought in a run. Another scored on a groundout, and the Rockies got within 8-5 on Kris Bryant’s RBI single. Bryant has hit safely in all eight games this season.
Washington responded with two in the eighth on RBI singles by Smith and Ruiz.
–Field Level Media
