WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — The Athletics scored early and often Saturday, defeating the Washington Nationals 15-1 at Sutter Health Park in a game that saw right-hander J.T. Ginn rebound from two rough starts with a dominant performance.

Ginn allowed one hit and no earned runs over 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two on 85 pitches. The outing was a stark turnaround from his previous two appearances, when he surrendered eight earned runs at Chicago on July 12 and two earned runs at Detroit on July 7, both losses. Ginn improved to 8-6 on the season, while Washington starter Zack Littell, who lasted only 3 2/3 innings and allowed six runs on six hits, fell to 7-7.

The Athletics jumped on Littell in the first inning. Shortstop Jacob Wilson led off with a solo home run to left field, his fifth of the season. After left fielder Tyler Soderstrom singled, designated hitter Shea Langeliers struck out, but right fielder Carlos Cortes doubled to center field, scoring Soderstrom. Third baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer then doubled to right, plating Cortes. Second baseman Donovan Walton walked, and catcher Jonah Heim singled to center, scoring Kuroda-Grauer and moving Walton to third. Center fielder Lawrence Butler grounded into a force out that scored Walton, giving the Athletics a 5-0 lead before first baseman Jeff McNeil grounded out to end the inning.

Washington went down in order in the top of the second, with three strikeouts and a popout. In the bottom half, the Athletics added another run. Wilson singled, moved to second on a walk to Langeliers, advanced to third when Cortes was hit by a pitch, and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Kuroda-Grauer. Walton walked to load the bases, but Heim flew out to second base to end the inning with the score 6-0.

Ginn retired 11 of the next 13 batters he faced, with the only base runners coming on walks in the second and fifth innings. Washington managed just one hit through the first six innings, a single by catcher Keibert Ruiz leading off the seventh. Ginn then induced a force out and struck out pinch hitter Curtis Mead before giving way to lefty Hogan Harris, who got the final two outs of the inning.

The Athletics broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, McNeil singled on a ground ball that was originally called an out but overturned upon replay. Wilson struck out, but Soderstrom followed with a two-run homer to right-center field, his 16th of the season, scoring McNeil and making it 8-0.

In the seventh, the Athletics sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six more runs. Cortes led off with a solo home run to left-center, his seventh. After Kuroda-Grauer grounded out, Walton walked, Heim struck out, and Butler walked. McNeil singled to right field, scoring Walton and moving Butler to third. Right fielder James Wood’s fielding error allowed McNeil to reach second. Wilson then singled to center, scoring Butler and advancing McNeil to third. Soderstrom was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Langeliers cleared them with a double to right field, scoring McNeil, Wilson and Soderstrom. Cortes struck out to end the inning, but the Athletics led 14-0.

Washington finally got on the board in the top of the ninth against Athletics reliever Mark Leiter Jr. Ruiz led off with a ground-rule double to right-center, his 18th double of the season. Daylen Lile singled to right field, moving Ruiz to third. After Mead struck out, Jorbit Vivas hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Ruiz. Dylan Crews grounded into a force out to end the game.

The Athletics added a final run in the bottom of the eighth on a single by McNeil that scored Kuroda-Grauer, who had walked and advanced on a hit batter.

For the Athletics, Wilson finished 3 for 6 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Soderstrom went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Cortes was 2 for 4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs. McNeil went 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Langeliers drove in three runs on a double. Kuroda-Grauer added two RBIs.

For Washington, Ruiz was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. The Nationals collected four hits in the game, all after the sixth inning.

The attendance was 11,138, and the game lasted 2 hours, 41 minutes.

The loss dropped Washington to 49-50 on the season, while the Athletics improved to 42-56. The result came one night after the Nationals beat the Athletics 23-4 on Friday, the highest-scoring game for either team this season.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington 4, Athletics 1, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Washington a 51.30 percent probability to win. The Athletics were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5 runs. The combined total of 16 runs went under the over-under line of 10.