CHICAGO -- Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer watched from the dugout as his teammates provided heaps of run support with hit after hit Wednesday night.

Scherzer felt grateful. He also felt a little restless waiting for his turn to take the mound.

"I was out in the tunnel throwing a ball against a wall to try to keep my arm at least kind of fresh," Scherzer said with a grin. "That's just the little things you've got to do to keep going."

Little things added up to big things as the Nationals cruised to an 11-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. The Nationals tallied a season-best 18 hits as each player in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit.

Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Drew, Danny Espinosa and Jayson Werth each belted home runs for the Nationals. Scherzer pitched seven scoreless innings as Washington (36-23) earned its third consecutive win.

In each of the past three games, the Nationals have scored at least 10 runs.

"It's fun to watch," said Drew, who finished 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI. "Even when I'm sitting there, these guys are going out every day, consistent with their at-bats. Everybody has been picking each other up throughout the lineup. Tonight, pretty much everybody was clicking."

Werth finished 3-for-5 with a walk, a home run and four RBIs to match a season high. Espinosa, Bryce Harper and Ben Revere also contributed three hits apiece as the Nationals improved to 9-2 in interleague play.

Melky Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the White Sox at the plate. Chicago (29-30) lost its fifth consecutive game and fell below .500 for the first time this season.

Right-hander James Shields (2-8) managed only six outs in 84 pitches in his White Sox debut. Shields gave up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks four days after Chicago acquired him from the San Diego Padres for right-hander Erik Johnson and infield prospect Fernando Tatis Jr.

"Maybe he came in here pressing to try to impress," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "We know he's going to pitch better, but the first inning probably got to him somewhat. They got to him early. He just struggled through it."

Shields' two-plus innings marked his shortest start since he recorded three outs Sept. 28, 2008.

"I was kind of all over the place today, really," Shields said. "Fastball location wasn't very good. I wasn't getting ahead of hitters, and when I did get the ball over the plate, they hit it out of the yard."

Scherzer (7-4) had no such trouble. He took advantage of an early lead to post his third victory in the past four starts. He scattered five hits, walked one and struck out six.

In his past six starts, Scherzer improved to 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA. He has 61 strikeouts in his past 45 1/3 innings.

"I really feel like my changeup has come alive over the past couple starts," Scherzer said. "That's the thing I am most proud about and really feel like I can keep taking forward from start to start. There are other parts of my game, little mechanical breakdowns throughout the game that happen where my arm slot drops throughout the start.

"At the same time, I only walked one. That's something that you can hang your hat on. To be able to go out there and pitch seven innings and give your team a chance to win, that's all you can ask for."

After seizing a 7-0 lead in the first three innings, the Nationals added three runs against right-hander David Robertson in the eighth inning. Werth hit a three-run shot over the left-field fence for his 10th home run.

White Sox outfielder J.B. Shuck made his first career pitching appearance in the ninth inning with the game out of reach. Werth notched his fourth RBI on a groundout that drove in Espinosa.

Chicago scored all four of its runs in the ninth inning. Cabrera, Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton each drove in runs.

NOTES: White Sox SS Jimmy Rollins returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the series opener. ... Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy started at designated hitter for the first time this season. Murphy was replaced in the field by 2B Stephen Drew, who made his 12th start of the season. ... White Sox manager Robin Ventura said RHP Zach Putnam was available out of the bullpen and no longer was experiencing arm soreness that bothered him for the past few days. ... Nationals RHP Blake Treinen was not available to pitch Wednesday after throwing three scoreless innings one day earlier, manager Dusty Baker said. Treinen also might be unavailable for Thursday's series finale, Baker said.