Nationals 14, Giants 6: Ian Desmond homered to ignite a six-run sixth inning and Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa added two-run shots in the eighth as host Washington secured its 12th victory in 13 outings.

Jose Lobaton had an RBI single among his three hits and scored three times for the Nationals, who recorded a season-high eight hits in the lopsided inning and 18 total to win the rubber match of the three-game series. Adam LaRoche, Asdrubal Cabrera and Scott Hairston each had an RBI double as Washington increased its lead to eight games over second-place Atlanta in the NL East.

Gregor Blanco homered to lead off the contest against Stephen Strasburg and Travis Ishikawa went deep to open the second inning for the Giants, who hold a one-game lead over the Braves in the race for the second wild card. Former National Michael Morse added an RBI double and Brandon Crawford had a run-scoring single among his three hits for the visitors.

After Blanco scored on a sacrifice fly to give San Francisco a 6-2 lead in the sixth, Washington erupted in the bottom half of the frame. Desmond belted his 21st homer off starter Ryan Vogelsong, Harper scored on a wild pitch from Jeremy Affeldt (3-2) and Lobaton had an RBI single and scored on Hairston's double to tie the game.

The Nationals continued their assault as Jayson Werth and LaRoche added RBI singles and Harper and Espinosa launched mammoth two-run shots in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Craig Stammen (4-4) picked up the win after allowing one run in two innings in relief of Strasburg, who yielded five runs in four frames.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Washington CF Denard Span went 2-for-6 for his NL-leading 49th multi-hit performance this season. ... Pablo Sandoval is 10-for-20 in his last five games for San Francisco, which returns home on Monday to open a seven-game stretch with a four-game series against Colorado. ... Washington begins a nine-game homestand on Monday when it hosts Philadelphia.