*Photo from TSN*
Anibal Sanchez beat his former team for his 3rd win in 4 starts, Juan Soto homered, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-1 to move above .500 this season. Sanchez allowed 6 hits and struck out 8 over 6 innings of work in his first start against the Tigers. In 5 starts since returning from the IL, Sanchez is 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA. Manager Dave Martinez said that ''When he keeps the ball down, he's really, really good, his pitch count was a little up but he was adamant that he could go out and go finish the sixth inning."
In the second inning, Soto opened up the scoring by launching a ball into the right field stands for a solo homer to make it 1-0. In the 5th, Adam Eaton made the lead 2 by scoring Victor Robles on a single to right field. The Tigers took one run back in the bottom of the 5th on a Nicholas Castellanos solo homer. In the 8th inning, the Nationals made the score 3-1 on a Howie Kendrick double to right field that scored Soto.
After Sanchez completed his outing, another former Tiger, Fernando Rodney, pitched the 9th for his first save of the season. Rodney was recently called up from Triple A Fresno. Daniel Norris took the loss for the Tigers, pitching 5 innings and giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He said the pitch that Soto took out of the park was a mistake. ''I slipped and threw it right down the middle and he hit it out of the stadium." Norris left in the 5th due to cramping in the groin area, where he had surgery last season.
The Nationals have now won 4 straight, and 8 of their last 10 games. They moved above .500 for the first time since April 18, when they were 9-8. The Tigers have now lost 8 in a row. Lefty Gregory Soto will start for Detroit in game two of the series, while Austin Voth starts for Washington.
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