Turner, Nationals turn back Mets

Washington shortstop Trea Turner had three hits and two runs Tuesday night, and the Nationals never trailed in a 5-2 win over the host New York Mets at Citi Field.

The Nationals, who came back from a five-run, eighth-inning deficit in an 8-6 victory Monday, have won the first two games of the three-game series against the Mets. New York (12-4) lost consecutive contests for the first time this season.

Turner doubled in the first and ninth, singled and scored the game's first run on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly in the third and walked and scored on Ryan Zimmerman's single in the seventh. The leadoff man also stole his major-league-leading eighth base.

Wilmer Difo and Pedro Severino had back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth, and Severino added a run-scoring groundout in the eighth.

Gio Gonzalez (2-1) wasn't at his usual Citi Field best but still combined with four relievers to slow the Mets. Gonzalez allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings in improving his record at Citi Field to 11-1, though his ERA at the Mets' home rose from 1.73 to 1.81.

Gonzalez exited with runners at the corners in the sixth, but Sammy Solis struck out pinch hitter Jose Reyes and retired Amed Rosario on a popup. Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler also wriggled out of two-on jams in the seventh and eighth, respectively, before Sean Doolittle earned his third save with a perfect ninth.

The Mets scored both their runs in the fifth, when Asdrubal Cabrera lofted a sacrifice fly and Yoenis Cespedes had an RBI groundout. Zack Wheeler and Rosario, New York's eighth- and ninth-place hitters, scored the runs and finished with two hits apiece. Cespedes, Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares also had two hits each for the Mets.

Wheeler (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two over six innings.

--Field Level Media