Washington Nationals vs New York Mets Box Score on Jun 16, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 16, 2017

NEW YORK -- Max Scherzer threw eight strong innings and struck out at least 10 batters for the fifth consecutive start Friday night to lead the Washington Nationals to a 7-2 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Nationals (41-26) have won the first two contests of the four-game series to extend their National League East lead over the Mets (30-36) to 10 1/2 games.

Scherzer (8-4) allowed one run -- on an eighth-inning homer by Jose Reyes -- on four hits and two walks while striking out 10. He fanned just one batter in the first three innings before recording nine of his final 15 outs via strikeout.

Scherzer capped his evening by winning an entertaining 11-pitch at-bat with Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes. The demonstrative right-hander finally struck out Cespedes on an 86 mph slider and slapped his hand into his glove.

Over his last five starts, Scherzer is 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA, a stretch in which he has struck out 58 while walking just seven over 40 innings.

Matt Wieters and Michael Taylor hit consecutive solo homers in the third for the Nationals, who extended their lead to 4-0 on Anthony Rendon's two-run shot in the sixth, Washington added three insurance runs in the ninth on back-to-back RBI singles by Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman and a bases-loaded walk by Rendon.

Harper had three hits while Rendon and Taylor each had two.

Jay Bruce homered leading off the ninth for the Mets. Bruce and Reyes finished with two hits.

Left-hander Steven Matz (1-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out four over seven innings. Matz also singled for the Mets' first hit in the third.

NOTES: The Mets placed CF Juan Lagares (broken left thumb) and RHP Matt Harvey (right shoulder) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled OF Brandon Nimmo and IF Matt Reynolds. ... Mets IF Jose Reyes' eighth-inning homer snapped a homer drought of 129 at-bats dating to May 1. ... The Nationals signed RHP Edwin Jackson to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse. ... Nationals LHP Sammy Solis (left elbow) gave up one run in one inning for Triple-A Syracuse in his first rehab appearance Thursday.