HOWIE RUMBERG
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — To David Wright, there’s nothing mysterious about the manner in which the Washington Nationals dominated the Mets this week.
“We just got outplayed, outpitched, outhit,” he said. “You get swept when every facet of the game is played by the other team.”
New York’s futility against Washington at Citi Field goes back a lot longer than one three-game series: Stifled by Stephen Strasburg, the Mets lost a club-record 11th straight home game to one team, 4-1 Thursday night.
The Mets dropped 10 in a row to the Braves at Shea Stadium from 1991-92.
Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper both connected after walks by Dillon Gee (4-5). LaRoche homered in the first and Harper hit a long drive to right-center in the fourth.
Other than the two long balls, Gee gave up only two singles — both to Desmond — in six innings.
“The command’s been on and off and I just keep working on it but there’s nothing really I can pinpoint that’s making that a problem,” said Gee, who matched a season high with four walks.
Strasburg (9-10) gave up three hits and an unearned run, improving to 2-8 in 13 road starts this season. He struck out eight and walked two.
Rafael Soriano was perfect in the ninth for his second straight save in the series and 28th overall. Washington increased its NL East lead to six games over Atlanta.
The Nationals hit seven homers in the series, outscoring the Mets 14-4 and continuing a lopsided trend during a streak in Queens that began June 30 last year. Washington has outscored New York 74-21 during the run at Citi Field, which now tops the Montreal Expos’ 10 road wins in a row against the Chicago Cubs from 1982-83.
The Nationals are 25-4 at the Mets’ home since Sept. 12, 2011. The teams play four more times this year in New York and three more in Washington, where the Nationals have won four of six meetings. They lead the season series 10-2.
“We played really well here,” manager Matt Williams said. “Now we’ve got to go do it at home.”
After a throwing error by Desmond at shortstop in the fourth, Lucas Duda hit a sacrifice fly that was caught just in front of the right-center wall.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: RF Jayson Werth missed his third straight game but said he felt 50 percent better after getting a cortisone injection for his ailing right shoulder. Williams thinks Werth might be available to pinch-hit Friday against Pittsburgh and could even start Saturday.
Mets: RHP Matt Harvey (Tommy John surgery) heard from his manager a day after the ace boasted on a radio program that he was throwing in the mid-90s (mph) during a rehabilitation session. The team is being especially cautious with Harvey since starter Jeremy Hefner had a recent setback in his recovery from similar elbow reconstruction. But Harvey still says he wants to pitch this season. “The process is, right now you’ve got to understand it’s the big picture, and the big picture is 2015. So back off,” Terry Collins said he told Harvey.
UP NEXT
Nationals: RHP Tanner Roark (11-7) faces the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first time. In his first year in the rotation, the 23-year-old has allowed one run or fewer in 13 of his 20 starts since April 21.
Mets: RHP Zack Wheeler (7-8) faces the Cubs on Friday night. Wheeler pitched 6 2-3 innings of two-hit ball in his only start against Chicago on June 3, a game the Mets lost 2-1.
GOING STREAKING
Wright singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Only one of the hits during the run was for extra bases, a double off Washington’s Craig Stammen last week.
HOMER-HAPPY HARPER
Harper also homered in the series opener, giving him two long balls in a series for the first time since April 25-28, 2013, against the Reds, STATS said.
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