Nationals beat Twins 7-5 in rubber match

WASHINGTON -- Keibert Ruiz homered and doubled twice with four runs batted in to power the Washington Nationals to a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in the rubber match of their three-game series at Nationals Park.

Ruiz broke a 5-all tie with a solo home run off rookie reliever John Klein in the seventh inning. Curtis Mead followed with an RBI single later in the frame to provide the final margin. PJ Poulin (3-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, while Gus Varland worked the final 1 1/3 innings for his fourth save.

The Twins, now 16-22, stranded runners and committed several miscues in the loss. Starter Simeon Woods Richardson allowed five runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings, including two walks and two hit batters. He struck out two but could not complete five innings for the fourth time in eight starts this season. Nationals starter Jake Irvin gave up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.

Minnesota jumped ahead 2-0 in the second on Brooks Lee's two-run single with the bases loaded. Kody Clemens, however, was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Jacob Young attempting to score on Tristan Gray's flyout....