Washington Nationals 12-1 over Chicago White Sox: Trea Turner leads charge in Guaranteed Rate Field...

In three starts back since coming of a stint on the Injured List, two of them against the White Sox he faced tonight in Chicago, Aníbal Sánchez has given up a two runs in 17 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched (1.04 ERA) after holding Sox’ hitters to a run on four hits in 6+ innings of work in the Washington Nationals’ 12-1 win in Guaranteed Rate Field.

Trea Turner led the offensive charge, going 3 for 5 with a double, triple, and homer (not in that order), two runs scored and two RBIs.

Sánchez vs the Sox again: Aníbal Sánchez gave up a run on four hits in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings when he went up against the White Sox last week in the nation’s capital, leaving the 35-year-old veteran with an impressive 0.79 ERA in two starts and 11 ¹⁄₃ IP since he returned from an IL stint back on May 29th.

“Everything that I worked [on] since I got back from the [Injured List] has helped me put my ball in the spot that I want,” Sánchez told reporters in D.C. after facing the Sox.

“So every time I’m able to do that, [I’m] ahead in the count most of the time, get out of the inning quickly.”

Sánchez threw 80 pitches total in each of those outings, which manager Davey Martinez said was by design as the pitcher built back up.

Tonight in Chicago, the right-hander went up against the Sox again and held the Pale Hose hitless through three innings, giving up just a walk.

James McCann reached on an infield single/wide throw by Brian Dozier, on a grounder up the middle with two out in the third, but Sánchez picked him off first base to end a fourth scoreless frame.

An eight-pitch, 1-2-3 fifth left Sánchez at 49 pitches total after five, but Leury García got him in the sixth, hitting a 2-0 cutter out to center for a solo shot that made it 3-1 in the Nationals’ favor.

It was a 4-1 game when Sánchez returned to the mound in the seventh, (at just 65 pitches), and gave up a leadoff single by McCann on his 69th pitch...

Aníbal Sánchez’s Line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 69P, 48 S, 9/5 GO/FO.

O-d-r-i-s-a-m-e-r D-e-s-p-a-i-g-n-e [DING!]: Odrisamer Despaigne signed with Cincinnati’s Reds this winter, but opted out of his deal in Ohio last month before signing a minor league deal with Chicago, and after four games (three starts) at Triple-A in the Sox’ system, the 32-year-old right-hander was called up to start against the Nationals tonight in the first of two with Washington in Guaranteed Rate Field.

Despaigne worked around a one-out double in a 16-pitch first, but gave up a leadoff walk to Howie Kendrick in the top of the second, which led to the Nationals’ first run when Kendrick took third on a single by Matt Adams and scored on a sac fly by Kurt Suzuki, 1-0.

Trea Turner tripled to right on a first-pitch sinker from Despaigne in the top of the third, and he scored on a bloop single to right-center by Adam Eaton to make it a 2-0 game.

Turner got to Despaigne again in the fifth, hitting a 2-1 fastball out to left for a solo shot and a 3-0 lead. Turner’s 5th.

A 13-pitch, 1-2-3 sixth ended Despaigne’s debut for the White Sox...

Odrisamer Despaigne’s Line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 1 HR, 97 P, 56 S, 4/6 GO/FO.

Rendon is Streaking: With one of the four consecutive home runs the Nationals hit in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game with the Padres, Anthony Rendon extended his on-base streak to 25 straight games, over which the 29-year-old infielder has gone 30 for 90 (.333 AVG) with a .455 OBP and a .656 SLG, seven doubles, two triples, six home runs, 22 runs scores, 20 walks, and 14 Ks in 110 plate appearances over the course of the streak.

Rendon went 0 for 3 against White Sox’ starter Odrisamer Despaigne, and he K’d swinging against José Ruiz in the top of the seventh.

Going up against Thyago Vieira in the ninth, Rendon reached on an infield single to make it 26-straight games! Streak lives!!

BULLPEN ACTION: José Ruiz came on for Chicago in the top of the seventh and walked the first batter he faced, Victor Robles, then battled Trea Turner for 11 pitches before giving up Turner’s 3rd hit of the game, an RBI double to left that left him a single away from the cycle and made it 4-1 Nationals.

Josh Osich took over for the White Sox with a runner on second and two out in the seventh and struck Juan Soto out to end the inning.

Tanner Rainey came on for the Nationals with a runner on in the bottom of the seventh, and got three quick outs to strand the runner he inherited and keep it 4-1 Nats.

Osich returned in the top of the eighth and gave up leadoff and one-out doubles by Howie Kendrick and Brian Dozier, respectively, with Kendrick scoring on Dozier’s to make it 5-1 for just a few minutes, before Dozier scored on an RBI single by Victor Robles, 6-1.

Thyago Vieira got the final out of the Nationals’ eighth.

Tony Sipp got the bottom of the eighth for the Nats, and the veteran lefty retired the Sox in order in a 15-pitch frame.

Vieira gave up back-to-back singles by Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon in the top of the ninth, and Juan Soto brought Eaton in with a chopper over first base, 7-1. Howie Kendrick added another RBI single, 8-1.

Juan Minaya walked Brian Dozier to load’em up with one out, and gave up a grand slam on an 0-2 fastball to Kurt Suzuki that cleared the fence in left-center field, 12-1.

Trevor Rosenthal came on with an 11-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and walked the first batter he faced on four pitches. He got a 6-4-3 DP out of Jose Abreu in the next at bat, and got out No. 3 from James McCann to end it. Ballgame. 12-1 final.

Nationals now 31-35