WASHINGTON — Luis García Jr. homered for the second consecutive day, rookie James Wood hit a bases-loaded triple, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Sunday.
Mitchell Parker threw six shutout innings for his first victory since June 16 for Washington, which has won back-to-back games since a five-game skid that matched a season high.
Gary Sánchez homered for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who dropped the final two of a three-game series and have lost four of five overall. Milwaukee went 2-4 against Washington this year, the first time the Brewers lost a season series to the Nationals since 2015.
García put Washington up in the first when he ripped Tobias Myers’ 3-1 fastball to center for his 13th home run of the season. The second baseman, who homered in Saturday’s 6-4 victory, had his seventh multi-hit game in his last 10 outings and is hitting .398 (33 for 83) with six homers and 17 RBIs since July 3.
It was all the Nationals managed against Myers (6-5), who allowed four hits and struck out two in five innings. But Washington immediately pounced when left-hander Hoby Milner entered to start the sixth, loading the bases with three singles.
Wood then laced an opposite-field fly down the left-field line. It got past a diving Jackson Chourio and clattered around the corner, allowing all three runners to come around on the triple to make it 4-0.
Milwaukee scored three runs in the eighth off Robert Garcia, including Sánchez’s two-run shot to left-center.
Parker (6-6) allowed three hits and three walks, struck out three and permitted only one baserunner past second base. The rookie was winless in his previous seven starts, including a July 13 outing at Milwaukee when he yielded five runs in two-thirds of an inning.
All-Star Kyle Finnegan handled the ninth for his second save in as many days and 30th in 34 opportunities.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP JB Bukauskas (right lat) struck out one in a scoreless inning Saturday for Triple-A Nashville.
UP NEXT
Brewers: Milwaukee is off Monday. RHP Colin Rea (9-3, 3.59 ERA), who is 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA in four career starts against the Braves, starts Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta.
Nationals: LHP Patrick Corbin (2-11, 5.88) starts the opener of a four-game series Monday against San Francisco as Washington’s homestand continues.
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