 Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman |
With an early start time because of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, the National League East-leading Nationals (47-32) blasted four home runs, three against the 22-year-old Bumgarner, to provide their own fireworks en route to a third straight win.
Washington's offense has come alive as of late and put up nine runs for the second straight day behind a rejuvenated Ryan Zimmerman who drove in three runs.
“"I was playing banged-up for a while there," Zimmerman told reporters. "“And when you try to play through things, sometimes it doesn't allow you to do the things you've been doing. It's definitely a lot better when you show up to the park and you feel healthy every day."
San Francisco grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning but the host Nationals caught up with a three-run third before pulling away with a trio of homers in the next two innings.
Jhonatan Solano hit a go-ahead solo homer in the fourth, and Zimmerman followed with a two-run shot in the fifth where Michael Morse also homered for a 7-3 lead.
Bumgarner (10-5), who pitched a one-hit shutout in his last outing, allowed nine hits and seven runs in five innings for his first loss since May 26.
“"Guys have days like this all the time. It just depends on how good you can minimize the damage," Bumgarner said. "“I didn't really minimize it today."
The defeat dropped the Giants (45-37) back into a tie for first in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodges who play the Cincinnati Reds later on Wednesday.