Mets Stifled by Gonzalez, Nationals

Gio Gonzalez homered in his first start for the second straight season and pitched three-hit ball to lead the Washington Nationals over the New York Mets 5-1 Wednesday night.

Ian Desmond also went deep and Jayson Werth had four hits for the Nationals, who followed up their 10-inning comeback on opening day with a more routine victory against one of Gonzalez's favorite foes. The left-hander struck out six and walked one in six comfortable innings, improving to 6-0 in his last seven starts against New York.

Mets manager Terry Collins stacked his strikeout-prone lineup with eight right-handed hitters, but it hardly mattered. New York provided little support for Bartolo Colon (0-1), touched up for nine hits over six innings in his Mets debut.

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