WASHINGTON (AP) — Carlos Santana broke a scoreless tie with a three-run homer in the sixth inning and started a late onslaught by the Cleveland Guardians, who beat the Washington Nationals 9-1 on Tuesday night to split a doubleheader.
Daniel Schneemann and Austin Hedges also went deep for the Guardians, who scored 18 runs in the twinbill but lost the opener, 10-9. Cleveland has won six of eight.
Ben Lively (2-2) gave up a solo homer to Riley Adams, one of two hits he allowed over 5 1/3 innings.
Brad Lord (1-4) pitched a career-high six innings for Washington and was working on a shutout before Santana turned on an 0-2 fastball and sent it into the bullpen in right field with two outs in the sixth.
Steven Kwan’s RBI double capped a three-run seventh, Schneemann hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Hedges added a solo shot in the ninth.
The Nationals threw four wild pitches, two by Eduardo Salazar and one each by Lucas Sims and Jackson Rutledge.
Key moment
José Ramírez drew a two-out walk that moved Kwan to second base before Santana’s 397-foot drive.
Key stat
Washington’s James Wood singled in the first inning to push his on-base streak to a career-high 16 games, although he didn’t stay on base for long. He was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
Up next
Guardians left-hander Logan Allen (1-2, 4.02 ERA) is scheduled to start against the Nationals’ Michael Soroka (0-1, 7.20) on Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. as the teams play their third game in a 24-hour span. Soroka hasn’t pitched since he suffered a strained biceps in his Nationals debut on March 31.
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