Lane Thomas batted in three runs, leading the Washington Nationals to a victory over San Francisco with a score of 8-1 on Monday night, marking the start of the Nationals’ week-long visit to the Bay Area.
Blake Snell, a pitcher who has won the Cy Young Award twice, including last season with San Diego, made his debut with the Giants after signing a $62 million, two-year contract on March 18. He had been training in Scottsdale, Arizona, to strengthen his arm.
When Snell came onto the field, the crowd warmly welcomed him as he began warming up in the bullpen.
After being given a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Snell (0-1) gave up consecutive walks in the second inning. This was followed by RBI singles from Trey Lipscomb and Luis García Jr., with Lipscomb scoring on a double steal.
Snell was under a pitch limit and was replaced by Erik Miller after the third inning. He had given up three runs and three hits, with five strikeouts and two walks.
Bob Melvin, Snell’s manager last year with the Padres, said, “When we signed him, it was a big deal. It really kind of energized our clubhouse at spring training.” Snell had a good record against the Nationals in previous games, with 2 wins, 0 losses, an ERA of 2.33, and 36 strikeouts over five starts.
Trevor Williams (2-0) pitched five innings for Washington, allowing one run and three hits.
In the fifth inning, Lane Thomas hit his first home run of the year, and Ildemaro Vargas added to the score with a run-scoring double. In the ninth inning, Washington scored again when Thomas singled and Vargas walked with the bases loaded.
