Harper's home run helps Nationals top Mets
NEW YORK — Bryce Harper hit a home run so hard that it twice sailed over the head of Mets right fielder Jay Bruce, propelling Gio Gonzalez and the Washington Nationals past New York 8-3 Thursday night.
Harper lined a solo drive in the first inning that sailed about a dozen rows deep into the seats. The ball ricocheted out of the stands in a hurry and Bruce couldn't catch the rebound, the carom flying far onto the grass.
Harper's 17th home run left the bat at 116.3 mph, his hardest-hit ball since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
Daniel Murphy added three more hits against his former team and Michael A. Taylor hit the Nationals league-leading 100th home run to cap a five-run fifth. Manager Dusty Baker won on his 68th birthday, while Gio Gonzalez improved to 10-1 at Citi Field.
The NL East-leading Nationals had lost five of six going into this four-game series while the sub-.500 Mets had won five of six. The banged-up Mets lost more than a game. A day after pitcher Matt Harvey and second baseman Neil Walker left with injuries that will put both of them on the disabled list, center fielder Juan Lagares broke his right thumb trying to make a diving catch. Earlier in the game, the former Gold Glover threw out Harper at the plate.
Gonzalez (6-1) gave up two hits and five hits in seven innings. A career .102 hitter coming in, he helped himself with an RBI single.
Robert Gsellman (5-4) was tagged for seven runs and 11 hits in five innings. He had won three straight starts, but fell behind when Harper homered.
Wilmer Flores and Rene Rivera homered for the Mets.
Brewers 6, Cardinals 4
ST. LOUIS — Keon Broxton and Eric Thames homered to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Thames' 18th of the season off Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh (1-3) in the ninth barely skimmed over the right field wall and broke a 4-4 tie as the Brewers won their second straight series against the Cardinals. Milwaukee had gone 0-15-2 in the previous 17 series.
Broxton drilled the first pitch he saw 489 feet into the left field seats to tie the game 2-2 in the second. It is the longest home run in Busch Stadium III's history and the second-longest this season in the major leagues.
Domingo Santana's single scored Eric Sogard to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the third.
For the second consecutive start, Brewers right-hander Zach Davies gave up four runs in five innings. He gave up nine hits and struck out one.
Interleague Phillies 1, Red Sox 0
PHILADELPHIA — Nick Pivetta figured that if the Phillies were going to end their losing streak he needed to keep up with Boston ace Chris Sale.
Pivetta did just that with the best performance of his young career in a pitchers' duel with Sale. Pinch-hitter Ty Kelly doubled home the only run in the eighth inning to lead the Phillies to a victory over the Red Sox.
Sale (8-3) was cruising until a one-out single by Andrew Knapp set the stage for Kelly's game-winning hit that ended the Phillies' eight-game losing streak. Kelly lined a slider into the left-field corner. Andrew Benintendi's throw sailed over the cutoff man and was a tad late, allowing Knapp to score from first for the only run of the game.
Kelly said the hit was in the top five moments of his big league career.
Sale allowed four hits with 10 strikeouts, upping his major league-leading total to 136. It was his 44th career double-digit strikeout game and ninth this season.
Pat Neshek (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Pivetta and Hector Neris earned his sixth save in seven tries with a scoreless ninth to help Philadelphia win its first interleague game of the season.
The Phillies salvaged a game in the fourgame home and home series with the Red Sox to improve to 1-8 in interleague games.
Pivetta went past the fifth inning for the first time in his seventh start. He allowed four hits in seven innings and nearly matched Sale with nine strikeouts against two walks.