Nationals 6, Giants 5: Rookie Anthony Rendon ripped a two-run double to highlight a five-run fourth inning and Jordan Zimmermann notched his National League-leading 14th win as host Washington secured its fifth consecutive victory.

Ian Desmond continued his mastery of Tim Lincecum (6-12) with a solo homer in the second inning. Kurt Suzuki and Ryan Zimmerman added RBI singles for the Nationals, who remained 8 1/2 games behind Cincinnati in the race for the second wild card in the National League.

Zimmermann (14-6) yielded one run on six hits before departing with a 6-1 lead after seven sizzling innings. Brandon Belt homered and Pablo Sandoval ripped a two-run double in the eighth before Belt added a two-out RBI single in the ninth, but Rafael Soriano stranded a runner at second to notch his 31st save.

After the teams traded runs in the second inning, Washington sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth to break open the contest. Rendon gave the Nationals a 3-1 lead by crushing a 2-2 fastball from Lincecum to straightaway center field to plate Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth. The two-run double also extended Rendon's streak of reaching base safely to 13 consecutive contests.

Rendon advanced to third on Suzuki's RBI single before scoring on a wild pitch. Zimmerman capped the uprising with an RBI single to give Washington a 6-1 advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Desmond's 17th homer moved him into a four-way tie for the team lead, joining Harper, Werth and 1B Adam LaRoche. He also improved to 10-for-14 with two homers in his career against Lincecum, who permitted six runs on seven hits in six innings to fall to 1-5 versus the Nationals. ... LF Roger Kieschnick had an RBI single in the second inning for the Giants, who suffered their third straight loss and eighth in 11 outings.