Lineup shakeup leads to 12-4 blowout win for Nationals

Who knew the best way to induce an offensive explosion from the Nationals' lineup was to move Bryce Harper to the leadoff position, Matt Adams into Harper's customary No. 3 spot and drop Wilmer Difo to ninth?

Hey, as manager Davey Martinez said the afternoon when asked about the unconventional decision to stick Harper at the top of his lineup: "Why not?"

It may not become a permanent thing, but it certainly worked just fine tonight. Behind Harper's three-run blast, Adams' pair of solo homers and Difo's homer and pair of walks in front of Harper, the Nationals cruised to a 12-4 rout of the Pirates in the evening's less-heralded showdown between Washington and Pittsburgh sports franchises.

With Harper consistently getting pitched around and beginning to chase offerings out of the zone, Martinez decided to shake things up by moving the slugger into the No. 1 position, figuring the Pirates would have to pitch to him in the first inning. Turns out the bigger change was letting Max Scherzer bat eighth, with Difo bringing up the rear of the lineup.

Difo not only homered in the bottom of the third to give the Nationals their first lead of the game, he also drew walks moments after Scherzer reached base in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing Harper to bat with two on and one out.

Not wanting to load the bases for Trea Turner, the Pirates decided to take their chances with Harper. And paid dearly for it. Chad Kuhl's first-pitch fastball was right over the plate and Harper launched it over the left field bullpen for his first home run (or extra-base hit of any kind) in 13 games.

Adams' solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings gave the Nationals four hits in the game, all of them homers. And when Harper walked to load the bases in the sixth, Turner officially turned this one into a blowout with a bases-clearing double to the gap.

It was the Nationals' third-largest offensive output of the season, topped only by last Wednesday's 15-run cavalcade in San Francisco and a 13-run showing in Cincinnati way back during opening weekend in March. And it came at a good time, providing Martinez an opportunity to stay away from his overworked trio of late-inning relievers.

Scherzer did his usual thing, posting six straight zeroes with eight strikeouts to begin his evening before fading in the seventh. Corey Dickerson's two-run homer put an end to any hope of a shutout and eventually brought Scherzer's start to an end after 6 1/3 quality innings.

Wander Suero gave up a pair of hits but retired the next two batters to complete a solid major league debut out of the bullpen. Sammy Solís and Carlos Torres then finished things off, giving Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle a well-deserved night off.