Giancarlo Stanton tied a major league record with his 18th home run in August, but Anthony Rendon had four RBIs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Stanton hit a long homer in the first inning, his 51st this season, to open the scoring following a 26-minute rain delay. His August output matched the mark set by Rudy York with the Detroit Tigers in 1937. Sammy Sosa set the record for homers in a month when he hit 20 in June 1998, and Stanton has two games left this month to catch the former Cubs slugger.
Stanton added an RBI with a deep sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
Rendon's three-run double in the seventh came after Washington's bullpen thwarted a rally earlier in the inning. Daniel Murphy also had a two-run single.
Nationals starter Edwin Jackson (5-3) allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits over six innings plus four batters.
Washington shortstop Trea Turner went 1 for 4 with a double and a walk in his first game since breaking his right wrist on June 29.
The Nationals, 16-7 since Aug. 6, had five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings against Vance Worley (2-4). The journeyman surprisingly held Washington to one run over 13 innings in back-to-back wins during the first eight days of August.
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Junichi Tazawa allowed Rendon's double and three runs in the seventh. Rendon also added a run-scoring single.
Trailing 5-2 entering the seventh, Miami scored one run on Jackson's throwing error and loaded the bases on Stanton's intentional walk with no outs. Relievers Oliver Perez and Matt Albers ended the threat with two groundballs and a strikeout to help Jackson earn his third win in four starts.
Murphy's two-out single up the middle put Washington ahead 2-1 in the third. Ryan Zimmerman's RBI hit in the fifth ended Worley's outing.
Washington activated Turner from the 60-day disabled list before Tuesday's game. After Stanton's homer, Jackson loaded the bases with two outs on three walks. Turner saved further damage with a full-out dive to his right on Tomas Telis' sinking liner.
