Depleted or not, lineup continues to rake (Nats win 13-3)

OAKLAND, Calif. - No Bryce Harper, no problem for the Nationals, who continue to rake at the plate no matter who's absent from the lineup.

With Harper serving the second game of his three-game suspension, the Nats are still piling up hits in their series opener against the Athletics. They've already plated six runs on 10 hits through the game's first four innings, with production from nearly every starter.

Michael A. Taylor and Daniel Murphy hit solo homers to get things started against A's right-hander Andrew Triggs. That was merely a precursor to a four-run top of the fourth in which the Nationals sent 10 men on the plate, seven of them safely reaching base.

Back-to-back doubles by Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters ignited the rally. Trea Turner, Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman added RBI singles later in the inning, all with two out.

Murphy is 3-for-3 tonight and 9-for-16 on the road trip. Zimmerman now has 44 RBIs, with the season reaching the one-third mark after Saturday's game.

This is the third straight game an opposing starter has failed to reach the sixth inning against the Nationals, with Jeff Samardzija and Matt Cain also getting knocked out early in San Francisco on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The offensive explosion surely has been appreciated by Stephen Strasburg, who has given up some hard contact tonight but has kept the damage to one big blow.

Matt Joyce's towering, two-run homer in the bottom of the third produced Oakland's only runs so far, but Strasburg has allowed a double off the wall, two fly balls to the warning track and another smoked line drive that required a full-extension diving catch from right fielder Brian Goodwin.

Update: Add Jayson Werth to the home run parade tonight. The 38-year-old launched a leadoff blast to left in the top of the sixth, extending the Nationals' lead to 7-2. It's his eighth homer of the season, which puts him on pace for 24. Not saying he'll sustain that rate, but that's awfully impressive at this stage of his career.

Update II: Now Goodwin has joined the home run parade. The rookie mashed his first career homer in the top of the seventh, a two-run blast to right-center that extended the lead to 9-2. A throng of happy teammates and coaches awaited Goodwin in the dugout, offering up high-fives for the young outfielder, who was all smiles.

Update III: Good lord, it just doesn't stop. Rendon clubbed the Nationals' fifth homer of the night, a three-run shot in the top of the eighth. All nine batters have both a hit and an RBI tonight. It's 13-2.

Update IV: That's a final. Nats win 13-3 after Yonder Alonso homered off Blake Treinen in the bottom of the ninth. They are 4-0 to begin this nine-game California trip, and they're 2-0 without Bryce Harper.