Nats bounce back, big, pound Brewers, 16-8

Whatever ill feelings there may have been from Saturday’s 14-inning loss to Milwaukee burned off early Sunday for the Washington Nationals.

The Nats scored four in the first, two in the second and seven in the third on their way to an easy 16-8 win over the Brewers.

The win gives Washington the series win. The Nationals (67-56) have won six of their last seven games, and remain five and a half back of Atlanta in the NL East.

The Braves took two of three from the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, completing the series win with a 5-3 win on Sunday.

The Nats solidified their status atop the NL wild-card race with the series win over the Brewers (64-60), who currently sit a game and a half behind the Chicago Cubs for the second wild-card spot.

This one was over early. Matt Adams hit a three-run homer in the first, and Victor Robles followed with a solo shot, the first two of seven home runs for Washington on the hot, humid afternoon at Nats Park.

Brian Dozier (18, 19) and Juan Soto (27, 28) each homered twice for the Nationals.

The Brewers went deep four times. Mike Moustakas (29, 30) homered twice, including a two-run shot in the ninth, ahead of another two-run homer that inning, off the bat of Orlando Arcia.

Eric Fedde (4-2, 4.31 ERA) was the beneficiary from a mound perspective, getting the win despite getting hit pretty hard himself, allowing four runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.

Fedde has won three straight starts dating back to Aug. 5, with a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings over that span.

Notes: The Nats head out on what will be a tough road trip, beginning with a four-game series at Pittsburgh on Monday. The trip includes a not-so-nice back-to-back with a Thursday night game in Pittsburgh and a Friday afternoon game at Wrigley against the Chicago Cubs. … The good news is that Max Scherzer appears to be in line to return to the starting rotation for the Thursday game in Pittsburgh. Scherzer (9-5, 2.41 ERA) has only made one start since July 6 as he has tried to deal with a mild rhomboid strain under his right shoulder.

Story by Chris Graham