Field Level Media
Jul 31, 2018
Daniel Murphy homered twice and drove in six runs, and Tanner Roark knocked in three and threw seven solid innings as the Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 25-4 Tuesday night at Nationals Park.
The 25 runs were a franchise high for Washington, which finished with 26 hits and five homers.
Roark lined a three-run double that was the key hit in a seven-run first inning. The Nationals scored at least three runs in each of the first five innings, then added six runs in the eighth off Mets infielder-turned-pitcher Jose Reyes.
Murphy went 3-for-4. Anthony Rendon finished 3-for-6 with four RBIs. Roark was 2-for-5 while Ryan Zimmerman (2-for-5) homered and drove in three. Trea Turner added four hits and three runs, and Juan Soto and Michael A. Taylor had three hits apiece.
Roark (5-12) earned his second consecutive win. He allowed one run on four hits and no walks while fanning seven.
New York starter Steven Matz (5-9) lasted just two-thirds of an inning. He gave up seven runs on eight hits.
The Nationals broke the game open with that seven-run first inning. Turner led off with a single and stole second and third before scoring on Bryce Harper's one-out double.
Zimmerman made it 2-0 with an RBI single that put him in first place in franchise history for hits (Montreal/Washington) with 1,695, passing Tim Wallach. Murphy's RBI single gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead, and Roark later lined his three-run double.
Rendon, activated from the family medical leave list before the game, singled in the final run of the first for a 7-0 lead. That also ended Matz's night.
In the second, Mets reliever Jacob Rhame gave up a Murphy two-run homer plus an RBI single by Matt Wieters. Murphy then made it 13-0 in the third with a three-run homer.
The Nationals scored three more in the fourth thanks to a Harper RBI double plus Zimmerman's two-run homer. Rendon's three-run double in the fifth made it 19-0.
Jeff McNeil (two RBIs) belted his first major league homer for the Mets in the seventh, a solo shot that made it 19-1.
The Nationals piled on against Reyes in the eighth. Matt Adams hit a two-run homer and Mark Reynolds added a three-run shot.
McNeil (fielder's choice) and Austin Jackson (two-run homer) drove in the three New York runs in the ninth.
--Field Level Media