DeJong’s two-homer day helps Cardinals crush Nationals

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hits a solo home run during the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. (USA TODAY Sports)

Paul DeJong hit a grand slam and a solo homer, and the visiting St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 12-5 on Monday. Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt and Justin Williams also homered for the Cardinals, who were shut out 2-0 in Philadelphia on Sunday. Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty (3-0) allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings. He struck out five. Joe Ross (1-1), who was unscored on in 11 innings coming in, was roughed up for 10 runs on eight hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. Ross gave up his first run of the season when DeJong homered to left with one out in the second. The Cardinals added three runs in the third. Justin Williams led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. Edman swung on a 3-0 count and homered to center to make it 3-0. Goldschmidt followed with a homer to left center. The leadoff batter in the fourth, Dylan Carlson, was hit by a pitch and DeJong walked. Goldschmidt singled to center, scoring Carlson. DeJong went to third, but Goldschmidt was thrown out at second. After Williams walked, Flaherty executed a safety squeeze with two strikes and DeJong scored to make it 6-0. In the Washington fourth, Juan Soto walked and Josh Bell doubled. After Kyle Schwarber struck out, Soto scored on a wild pitch and Bell moved to third. Josh Harrison walked and Starlin Castro hit a fly to right, scoring Bell. The Cardinals broke it open in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, DeJong sent an 0-1 Ross pitch to left for a grand slam, making it 10-2. With two outs, Williams homered to center off Kyle Finnegan. Washington plated three in the sixth on a fielder’s choice by Castro, an RBI-double by Yan Gomes and an RBI-single by Victor Robles; and the Cardinals added a run in the eighth on Goldschmidt’s single to make it 12-5. Nationals infielder/outfielder Hernan Perez tossed a scoreless ninth inning. Meanwhile The Boston Red Sox jumped on Chicago White Sox ace Lucas Giolito for eight runs in the first two innings and cruised to victory in a Patriots’ Day matinee at Fenway Park. Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez each homered for the Red Sox, who earned a split of the four-game set after dropping both ends of a doubleheader on Sunday. Luis Robert doubled in a run in the first inning to give Chicago a brief lead before Hernandez greeted Giolito (1-1) with a leadoff homer in the bottom half. Verdugo and Martinez followed with back-to-back singles before Rafael Devers singled in a run. Results Cardinals    12-5    Nationals Red Sox    11-4    White Sox Giants    2-0    Phillies Mariners    4-3    Dodgers Rays    4-1    Royals Brewers    3-1    Padres Rangers    6-4    Angels