Nationals go after Niese in first at-bat (Nats win 7-1)

The Nationals strung together three straight hits to jump on Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese in the first inning. Anthony Rendon doubled off the wall in right-center to start the rally. Jayson Werth connected on an RBI single and the Nationals led 1-0. Adam LaRoche followed with his 14th homer of the season, a two-run shot over the right-center field wall and the Nationals advantage increased to 3-0. Nationals starter Doug Fister set the tone with a 1-2-3 top of the first. After one inning in D.C., the Nationals lead 3-0. Update: Denard Span singled to lead off the third. He now has a 10-game hitting streak. Span also has now reached base safely in 32 consecutive games. That's the second-best streak in Nationals history. Ryan Zimmerman had a 43-game streak in early 2009. The Nationals still lead 3-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth. Update II: Danny Espinosa crushed a three-run shot off of Niese in the sixth. His seventh homer of the season went over the left field wall and came on a 1-1 pitch. The Nationals now lead 6-0. Update III: The Mets scored a run in the eighth on a base hit by Daniel Murphy, and the Nationals lead 6-1. The hit was off of newly acquired lefty Matt Thornton, who got out of the jam the next batter. Thornton's fastball clocked in at 96 and 97 mph. Fister went 7 1/3 innings, allowing six hits, one unearned run and no walks while striking out seven. He tossed 101 pitches, 69 for strikes. Update IV: LaRoche added another homer, his 15th, a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth and the Nationals led 7-1. It was the first time this season a Nationals player hit more than one home run in a game, and was the 23rd time LaRoche has done it in his career. Ross Detwiler pitched a scoreless ninth. The Nationals defeated the Mets 7-1. They now have a four-game lead over the Braves atop the National League East.