Swanson gets four hits as surging Cubs crush Nationals

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dansby Swanson had four hits, Jordan Wicks pitched five solid innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 14-1 on Sunday for their season-high sixth consecutive win.

Isaac Paredes had three RBIs for the Cubs, who finished with 18 hits. Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner and Miguel Amaya each drove in two runs.

Chicago closed out an 8-1 road trip that also included stops in Miami and Pittsburgh. The Cubs (71-66), who are looking to rally into an NL wild-card slot, improved to 20-8 since July 31.

Chicago has scored 99 runs in its last 10 games.

“Up and down the lineup, we had guys doing stuff,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You can’t ask for anything more on offense than we got this trip.”

Pitching on his 25th birthday, Wicks (2-2) permitted one run and four hits in his first big league appearance since June 14. The left-hander was activated from the 60-day injured list after he missed more than two months with a right oblique strain.

“It felt good to go out there and get into game shape,” Wicks said. “You can’t really mimic being on a big league field in a big league atmosphere and facing hitters like that. Everything felt great and I was happy to just settle in.”

Washington (61-76) dropped a season-high 15 games under .500. The Nationals were swept for the eighth time this season.

Darren Baker, the son of former big league manager Dusty Baker, made his big league debut as a pinch hitter for the Nationals in the ninth. He singled to center on the first pitch he saw.

The 25-year-old Baker was brought up from Triple-A Rochester as active rosters expanded to 28 players.

Washington left-hander Mitchell Parker (7-9) struck out eight in six innings, but he was charged with four runs, three earned, and seven hits.

The only significant threat for the Nationals against Wicks occurred in the second, when they loaded the bases with none out. Keibert Ruiz grounded into a double play to score a run, and Luis García Jr. flew out to end the inning.

The Cubs responded with three runs in the third. Ian Happ tied it at 1 with a one-out RBI single. After giving up a double and a walk, Parker struck out Bellinger before Paredes hit a two-run single to right.

Chicago made it 4-1 in the fourth. Hoerner scored from first when Washington third baseman José Tena’s attempt to throw out the bunting Pete Crow-Armstrong sailed down the right-field line.

The Nationals committed three errors.

“We’ve got to catch the baseball,” manager Dave Martinez said. “It was awful today. I can’t say nothing about it. Our defense was not there. I thought Mitch threw the ball really well. We’ve got to play defense behind him.”

The Cubs padded the lead with a seven-run ninth against rookie relievers Zack Brzykcy and Orlando Ribalta. Chicago’s seven hits during the rally were its most in any inning this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: INF Nick Madrigal (left pinky fracture) was recalled from Triple-A Iowa and placed on the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Wicks.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon (9-8, 3.85 ERA) starts as Chicago returns home Monday to open a three-game series against Pittsburgh.

Nationals: Following an off day on Monday, LHP Patrick Corbin (4-12, 5.50 ERA) will look to win his third consecutive start Tuesday when the Nationals begin a two-game series at Miami.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb