EditorsNote: removed reference to "Turner opened the game" in 9th graf; same graf, fixed spelling of "Alfonso" Soriano; other minor fixes
Trea Turner hit for the cycle, and Stephen Strasburg threw six scoreless innings to win his sixth consecutive start as the Washington Nationals smashed the visiting Colorado Rockies 11-1 Tuesday.
Turner hit a homer leading off the first inning, a single in the second, a triple in the fifth and a double in the Nationals' eight-run seventh. It was the second cycle of his career, with the first coming at Colorado on April 25, 2017.
Turner, who grounded into a double play in the sixth inning, completed the fourth cycle in the majors this season.
Strasburg (13-4) allowed just three hits and struck out eight while walking two. He has not lost since June 15, when he fell 10-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The right-hander also singled in his first at-bat to give him four hits in a row after he went 3-for-3 with a homer and five RBIs in his last start, at Atlanta on Thursday.
Wander Suero came on in the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning. Michael Blazek threw the final two frames and allowed a run.
Matt Adams had two run-scoring hits for Washington.
Colorado starter Peter Lambert (2-2) went 5 1/3 innings and gave up nine hits and three runs, with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Turner struck first for the Nationals with a homer to left, his eighth long ball of the year. It was the ninth leadoff blast of his career, tying the Washington-era franchise record held by Alfonso Soriano.
Adam Eaton followed with a double in the first and scored on a single by Adams to give Washington a 2-0 lead.
The Nationals got an insurance run in the sixth as Brian Dozier led off with a single and eventually scored on a single by Yan Gomes for a 3-0 edge.
A backup catcher, Gomes had two hits after he entered the game with one hit in 23 at-bats this month (.043).
Washington broke away in the seventh.
Adams and Victor Robles had RBI singles. Gerardo Parra drove in two runs with a pinch-hit single, and Gomes came all the way from first on a throwing error to score. Turner doubled in a run later in the inning, and Anthony Rendon had a two-run double for an 11-0 lead.
Yonder Alonso's ninth-inning RBI double produced the lone run for the Rockies, who have lost seven of eight. The Nationals have alternated wins and losses over their past nine games.
--Field Level Media
