Nationals use 7th inning surge to sweep past Blue Jays
Josh Bell's 3-run homer lifts Washington to victory
Josh Bell hit a three-run homer off former teammate Brad Hand, and the Washington Nationals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 on Wednesday.
Juan Soto and Carter Kieboom also connected for Washington, which won back-to-back games for the first time since July 27-29. The Nationals had dropped 12 of 13 prior to the two-game interleague series.
Marcus Semien homered twice and Teoscar Hernandez went deep for the fourth consecutive game for Toronto, which has lost five of six since reaching a season-high 11 games over .500 on Aug. 11. The Blue Jays completed interleague play with a 14-6 record, all against the NL East, but went 1-3 against the fourth-place Nationals.
Bell, who hit .113 with two homers and five RBIs in 53 April at-bats, has raised his average to .241. It's his third career 20-homer season in his first year in Washington.
"Josh is quietly having a pretty good year," Washington manager Dave Martinez said. "He has 20 home runs, 65 RBIs after the way he started. This guy has done a tremendous job for us."
Toronto's bullpen allowed 10 runs in eight innings during the two-game series. Hand is 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in eight games since joining the Blue Jays.
"Most of the guys in the bullpen are kind of struggling right now," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "I trust Brad Hand to make an adjustment because he's around and he's been a closer before. He's been good and bad, and of course today he was not good. That's a fact. I trust him that he'll make an adjustment and be better next outing."
Mason Thompson (1-1) recorded the last two outs of the seventh for his first major league victory. Kyle Finnegan pitched 1 1/3 innings for his fourth save.
Gray has a 2.86 ERA in four starts with Washington. With Hernandez's homer in the second and Semien's in the third, the seven earned runs he has allowed since the trade have come on solo homers.
Gray departed with a 4-2 lead, but it didn't last long. Ryne Harper yielded Corey Dickerson's two-run homer and Semien's solo shot on consecutive pitches in the seventh.
Blue Jays pitcher Tim Mayza was activated from the injured list, and infielder Kevin Smith was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo. Alek Manoah was placed on the bereavement list and relief pitcher Rafael Dolis was designated for assignment. Dolis was 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA in 39 games.Manager Charlie Montoyo said he anticipates C Danny Jansen (hamstring strain) will begin a rehabilitation assignment by next week.
Blue Jays begin a seven-game homestand Friday when Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.88 ERA) faces Detroit to open a three-game series.
