GIANTS WIN WITH ACE NOT UP TO PAR

Jason Vosler homered and Darin Ruf had three hits for the San Francisco Giants, who were missing several players with COVID-19 but still beat the Washington Nationals 9-3 on Saturday.

Giants starter Logan Webb (3-1) gave up a careerhigh 11 hits in six innings in which he struck out three, walked one and allowed three runs.

“He’s not at his best right now, I think he’ll tell you that, but even when he’s not at his best, he has to have that sort of killer instinct, that attack mentality,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said of his staff ’s ace. “Still, a fine outing for Webby.”

The Giants snapped a two-game skid with their sixth win in eight games.

“They had a really good approach,” Webb said of the Nationals. “They were swinging early, it seemed like, and then when I did get into counts that were twostrike counts they really weren’t chasing at all. Props to those guys for doing that. I feel like you don’t see that very often anymore ... especially a lineup like that that has guys that can hit balls 500 feet.”

Vosler, who hadn’t gone deep this season going into the series, homered for a second straight day leading off the sixth. It sparked a fiverun inning that gave San Francisco an 8-3 lead.

The Giants broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth when pinch-hitter Mauricio Dubon’s two-out RBI single highlighted a two-run inning.

Nationals starter Joan Adon (1-4) gave up four runs in four-plus innings of fourhit ball. He struck out five and walked three as the Nationals lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

“His fastball was all over the place today,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He couldn’t really get ahead and then the pitch count just blew up on him. But we’re going to keep working with him. He’s got good stuff.”

Washington scored first in the top of the third with Alcides Escobar’s RBI double.

The Giants tied it up in the third on Thairo Estrada’s two-out, two-run double. Estrada also drove in a run in fifth on a fielder’s choice grounder. He leads the team with 14 RBIS.

Washington committed three errors.

“We’ve got to clean that up, we really do,” Martinez said. “You can’t give good teams 28, 29, 30 outs. It just can’t happen.”

Off the field, the Giants acquired infielder Mike Ford from Seattle for cash considerations and activated the 29-year-old for Saturday’s game. The Giants sent OF Ka’ai Tom back to Triple-a a day after he was selected to join the team.

Also, center fielder Austin Slater left Saturday’s game at the start of the sixth inning with a right knee contusion as a result of crashing into the wall on Friday, Kapler said. And outfielder Joc Pederson remains dayto-day with a Grade 1 adductor strain.

Notable

The Reds cut outfielder

Aristides Aquino, clearing a roster spot for right-hander

Connor Overton to start Saturday night at Colorado. Aquino was in his fifth season with the Reds and struggled this year, batting .049 with 23 strikeouts in 41 atbats over 15 games.

• Rays C Francisco Mejia missed his eighth game on the Covid-related IL, but is now symptom-free. The Rays face a decision on whether to take him on their their nine-game West Coast trip starting Monday.

• D-backs closer Mark Melancon (undisclosed) is expected to be out until at least May 6. RHP J.B. Wendelken (undisclosed) is expected to be out until at least May 9.

• Clayton Kershaw became the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader when the Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson went down for No. 2,697 in the fourth inning Saturday. He passed Don Sutton.