Nats Stay Hot, Rout Mets at Home
The Washington Nationals and New York Mets took the field in the nation's capital on Sunday, in a matinee matchup to round out a three game series. Mets ace Noah Syndergaard would face the young Joe Ross, in a clash that looked to be in Syndergaard's favor.
No one could have guessed what would happen at Nationals Park during this game.
Washington's Joe Ross surrendered one run in the top of the first. New York looked to be in good shape, with their ace taking the mound. However, Syndergaard let up five earned runs to the Nats, and was taken out of the game with a "possible lat strain" (UPDATE: Syndergaard diagnosed with a "partially torn lat muscle") after pitching just one and one-third innings.
The Nationals took full advantage of Noah Syndergaard's early exit. Washington scored in every inning except the second, including three innings with four or more runs (after the first). The Nats smacked seven homers and four doubles on their way to a grand total of twenty-three hits.
Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon must have eaten his Wheaties (or something really good) before Sunday's game. Rendon cracked three of Washington's seven bombs, ending his day with six hits (6-6) and ten RBIs. He is the first player in Major League Baseball to drive in ten runs since Garret Anderson accomplished the feat for the Los Angeles Angels in 2007.
The red-hot Bryce Harper also went yard on Sunday, capping off his incredible month of April with a .391 average, nine home runs, and twenty-six RBIs. Harper also scored thirty-two runs in the first month of the season, setting a new MLB record for the month of April. Any doubts of his "poor" 2016 performance carrying over into the new season have (or should have) surely been dropped.
Nats catcher Matt Wieters hit two homers as well during Sunday's one-sided slugfest, helping his team finish off a 23-5 victory over the Mets.
Washington continues its hot start to the season, and owns the best record in the MLB. The Nationals will celebrate their enormous win with an off-day on Monday, while the struggling Mets travel to Atlanta to battle the Braves.
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