Washington Nationals 7-4 over New York Mets for sixth straight in Citi Field...

Stephen Strasburg had a 1-0 lead before he took the mound this afternoon in Citi Field and a 4-0 lead before he gave up one of the two runs he allowed in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings on the mound in what ended up a 7-4 win for Washington.

The Nationals took their sixth straight game in Citi Field this season with the win and the ninth in the last eleven in Flushing, Queens.

New York’s skipper Terry Collins was asked last night about Washington’s dominance in the Mets’ home, and he had a simple answer as to what was behind the Nationals’ run of success in Citi Field.

Reporter: They’ve had a lot of success here this year, I think they’re undefeated, any reason Washington... ?:

Terry Collins: “Yeah, they’re good.”

Dusty Baker’s squad was good again this afternoon.

Trea Turner homered on the second pitch of the game. Jose Lobaton homered in the second inning. Daniel Murphy doubled in a run in the third, and Lobaton scored on an error in the fifth. Adam Lind drove Murphy in with a two-run home run to right in the eighth, and Anthony Rendon drove Turner in with an RBI double in the ninth, 7-4 final.

Nationals now 42-26

HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Two pitches into today’s game, the Nationals had a 1-0 lead after Trea Turner hit a 1-0 fastball to left field in Citi Field for a leadoff home run off Mets’ starter Seth Lugo. Turner’s 7th HR of the season.

• Jose Lobaton took a first-pitch slider from Lugo to right for a two-out solo shot in the second, putting the Nationals up 2-0 with his second home run of 2017.

• Anthony Rendon singled to start the third and scored on a one-out double to right by Daniel Murphy, whose RBI hit extended his on-base streak against his former team to a total of 28-straight games and put the Nationals up 3-0. Murphy has played 28 games against the Mets since signing with Washington.

• Jose Lobaton walked with one down in the Nationals’ half of the fourth, took second on a bunt by Stephen Strasburg and scored on an error on a grounder to third off Trea Turner’s bat for a 4-0 Nationals’ lead. Wilmer Flores with the throwing error.

• Stephen Strasburg worked around back-to-back, one-out hits by Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce in the bottom of the first, getting a 4-6-3 inning-ending DP, but the Mets’ 2-3 hitters hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth, and Cespedes to third on Bruce’s hit and scored on a 6-3 DP grounder off Wilmer Flores’s bat, 4-1.

• Cespedes (3 for 3) and Bruce (3 for 3) struck again in the sixth, with back-to-back hits to start the inning that brought Wilmer Flores up with runners on first and third again. Flores avoided a double play grounder this time, sending a sac fly to right that allowed Cespedes to score ahead of a strong throw in by Bryce Harper, 4-2.

• Blake Treinen took over on the mound with runners on first and second with one out in the sixth, after Strasburg walked Lucas Duda on his 106th pitch. Treinen got what he was after, with a grounder to third by T.J. Rivera starting an inning-ending 5-3 DP.

• Stephen Strasburg’s Line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 Ks, 106 P, 68 S, 5/2 GO/FO.

• Treinen came back out for the seventh and committed a throwing error on a ground ball back to the mound by Jose Reyes, who took second when Treinen threw way wide of first. Treinen got two outs before Dusty Baker turned to Matt Grace against Michael Conforto with a runner on third in the Mets’ seventh and popped him up to end the frame, still 4-2 Nationals.

• Daniel Murphy singled to start the eighth and scored one out later when Adam Lind hit a 2-0 slider from Aaron Sewald into the Coca-Cola Corner in right field in Citi Field. Upper deck for No. 6 on the season by Lind. 6-2 Nationals.

• Joe Blanton gave up a solo shot to Yoenis Cespedes in the first at bat of the Mets’ eighth. It was the sixth home run he's allowed to 1st batter he faces in a game this season, and the eighth HR allowed in 15 ¹⁄₃ IP in 2017, after he gave up seven in 80 IP in 2016. 6-3 Nationals.

• Enny Romero retired one batter after taking over for Blanton with a runner on and one out in the eighth, but back-to-back, two-out singles by Travis d’Arnaud and Jose Reyes got the Mets within two, 6-4.

Romero got Rene Rivera swinging to end the threat and strand two Mets.

• Trea Turner singled and scored on an RBI double to the right-center gap by Anthony Rendon in the top of the ninth to put the Nationals up, 7-4. Rendon’s 15th double.

• Romero came back out for the ninth and worked around a dropped pop for a scoreless frame. Ballgame.

NATIONALS PREGAME NOTES:

• With last night’s win, the Washington Nationals improved to 6-2 against New York this season, with a 5-0 record in the Mets’ home.
• The Nationals have won five in a row in Citi Field and 9 of 11 in New York.
• In today’s Nationals-themed “Fun with Arbitrary End Points” segment: Washington has a 123-106 record against New York in the all-time series between the teams and a 40-24 record against the Mets... since 2014.
• Washington’s 23-12 road record heading into today’s game is the second-best in the NL, behind only the Colorado Rockies (25-13).
• Daniel Murphy extended his on-base streak against the Mets to 27-straight games, all of the games he’s played against his former since joining the Nationals. He has a .393 AVG against New York.
• Washington’s offense started the day leading the NL in AVG (.276), OBP (.341), SLG (.475), home runs (103), extra-base hits (251), and RBIs (363).
• JINX CORNER: Washington started the day having played 67 games without being shut out, the only National League team that hasn’t been shut out this season and one of three in the majors, along with Minnesota and New York.
• Stephen Strasburg started the day (6-1) with a 1.97 ERA in eight career starts in Citi Field.