Thursday, April 5, 2018 01:05 PM (ET)

Bruce's grand slam lifts Mets past Nationals

Field Level Media
Apr 5, 2018
Jay Bruce hit a grand slam for New York, which also got homers from Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto, as the Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2 on Thursday afternoon.

The three home runs gave the Mets seven consecutive runs in Washington's home opener. Conforto was playing in his first game of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery, and the home run his first hit of 2018.

All of that power helped Jacob deGrom (2-0) win for the second time in two starts. He allowed two runs on four hits in six innings.

Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (1-1) gave up four runs on five hits, including two of the homers, in six innings.

The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Adam Eaton doubled and then scored when right fielder Bruce made an error on Anthony Rendon's single.

New York tied it in the second when Bruce scored on a Strasburg balk but Rendon gave Washington a 2-1 lead in the third on an RBI double.

Cespedes tied the game with a solo homer in the fourth, his third home run this season.

The Mets took a 4-2 lead in the fifth on Conforto's two-run blast, originally ruled in play as it hit near the top of the left-field wall, but the call was overturned after a review.

Washington wasted a scoring chance in the sixth when it loaded the bases with no outs against deGrom. The right-hander then retired the next three batters and escaped trouble.

The final out came on a Trea Turner strikeout, and he was then ejected for arguing.

Eaton came out after the fifth inning for the Nationals as he appeared to have some trouble running.

The Mets broke the game open against relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler in the seventh. They loaded the bases with two outs, and Bruce belted his grand slam to center for an 8-2 lead.

The Nationals also announced that they agreed to a two-year contract extension with president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Rizzo, which will keep him with the team through 2020.

-- Field Level Media

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