By MIKE FITZPATRICK
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK — Gio Gonzalez came about as close as a pitcher can to a no-hitter.
The left-hander would up inches away in a one-hitter Monday night and the Washington Nationals hit five home runs, including long balls by their first two batters in a 9-0 rout of the New York Mets.
“It was a great performance,” Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. “He was throwing everything over — change, curve, fastball. It was fun to watch.”
Gonzalez held the overmatched Mets hitless into the seventh before pinch-hitter Zach Lutz broke up the bid with a soft single. Lutz swung at the first pitch of the inning and sliced a looper that landed on the first base line, taking out a chunk of chalk well behind the bag for New York’s lone hit.
“Off the end of the bat,” Lutz said. “It was good luck.”
First baseman Adam LaRoche made a diving attempt as the ball hit the dirt, but it squirted by and into foul territory along the right field line. First base umpire John Hirschbeck correctly called it fair, and Gonzalez (10-6) paused behind the mound to stare in that direction.
“LaRoche came over to me and said, ‘I’m sick to my stomach.’ All the guys came over and said the same thing,” said Gonzalez, who won 21 games last season and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting.
After the hit, Gonzalez kept sailing along in a dominant outing. He struck out eight and walked two for his second career shutout and fourth complete game, improving to 5-0 in six starts against the Mets since last year’s All-Star break.
Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman hit back-to-back homers to start the game. Jayson Werth and Tyler Moore also connected off Carlos Torres (3-4), roughed up by Washington for the second time in six weeks.
Wilson Ramos added a three-run shot off reliever Greg Burke.
The five home runs were the most a team has hit in one game at Citi Field, which opened in 2009.
Handed a huge lead, Gonzalez was in cruise control as he won his third straight start. He faced three batters more than the minimum to help the Nationals, on the fringe of the NL wild-card chase, win their third in a row and fifth in six games.
The only ball the Mets hit hard was a line drive to shortstop by Juan Lagares in the fifth. Gonzalez walked his second batter and penultimate one.
“Fortunately, we put a ball in play where no one was at so we go home at least knowing we didn’t get no-hit,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Obviously, we feel very fortunate.”
Washington gave Gonzalez a two-run lead before he took the mound, hitting two homers on Torres’ first eight pitches.
Span’s shot to right field was his sixth career leadoff homer and first for the Nationals this season. It also extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest active run in the majors.
Zimmerman followed with a drive to left-center for his fourth home run in three days and sixth in the last seven games.
It marked the third time this season that a team hit back-to-back homers to begin a game, according to STATS. Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran did it for St. Louis on April 26 against Pittsburgh, and Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout connected for the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 6 against Texas.
Steve Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper were the last Nationals pair to achieve the feat on June 3, 2012, against Atlanta. The previous time the Mets served up homers to the first two batters in a game was June 28, 2003, when Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter went deep for the Yankees, STATS said.
“That was the first time I had ever seen it,” Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud said.
Span singled in the third, Zimmerman walked and Werth hit a three-run shot to left-center.
Moore opened the fourth with a long drive to straightaway center, making it 6-0. Ramos connected in the fifth, and the only drama left was Gonzalez’s pursuit of a no-hitter.
Torres gave up six runs and five hits in four innings. He’s made four solid starts for the Mets and turned in two duds against the Nationals, including their 14-1 rout on July 28.
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 2
MIAMI — Evan Gattis drove in two runs to highlight Atlanta’s highest-scoring inning in more than a month, and the Braves snapped a four-game slide by beating Miami 5-2.
Justin Upton, Freddie Freeman and Gattis all doubled to lead off what became a five-run fourth, Atlanta’s biggest inning since a five-run fifth against Philadelphia on Aug. 2. Kris Medlen (13-12) was the beneficiary that night against the Phillies and again on Monday, getting the win after allowing six hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings.
Atlanta (86-57) passed idle Boston (87-58) for baseball’s best record.
Chris Coghlan tied a career high with four hits for Miami, which lost for the 24th time in its last 34 games. Ed Lucas added a two-run double in the seventh for the Marlins.
Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez (3-4) gave up no hits in the first three innings, before Atlanta got to him in the fourth.
Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth for his 45th save in 48 tries. Atlanta has not lost more than four straight at any point this season.
CUBS 2, REDS 0
CINCINNATI — Travis Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings.
Wood (9-11) finally beat the team that traded him after the 2011 season. He was 0-4 in his career, including three losses this season. He allowed six hits and fanned seven.
Kevin Gregg gave up a double in the ninth while earning his 31st save in 35 chances.
Ryan Sweeney and Luis Valbuena homered off Bronson Arroyo (13-11), who had won his last four starts against the Cubs. Arroyo allowed seven hits over seven innings, striking out six.
The Reds were coming off a week when they got six wins in seven games against St. Louis and the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Cincinnati is 13-4 against the Cubs this season. Overall, Cincinnati has won 12 of its last 15 and 22 of its last 27 against Chicago.
ORIOLES 4, YANKEES 2
BALTIMORE — Chris Tillman took a three-hitter into the eighth inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 4-2 in a game that featured an on-field confrontation between the teams’ managers.
With the victory, the Orioles moved within 1 1/2 games of idle Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card. The Yankees fell three games behind Tampa Bay.
Tillman (16-5) allowed two runs and four hits in seven-plus innings. He walked none and struck out nine, matching his career high.
Both dugouts emptied briefly after the first inning, when Orioles manager Buck Showalter angrily exchanged words with Joe Girardi after the Yankees manager apparently said something to Baltimore third base coach Bobby Dickerson. Showalter had to be restrained by home plate umpire Ed Hickox.
Alex Rodriguez hit his 652nd homer.
INDIANS 4, ROYALS 3
CLEVELAND — Ubaldo Jimenez struck out 10 in seven innings and Asdrubal Cabrera, Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana each hit solo homers, leading the Indians to a win over the Royals in a matchup between two teams in the thick of the AL wild-card chase.
The Indians, who won despite having only five hits, stayed even with Baltimore, 1½ games back of Tampa Bay for the second wild-card spot. The Royals dropped to four games behind the Rays.
Jimenez (11-9) allowed one unearned run and didn’t walk a batter. The right-hander left with a 4-1 lead after throwing 99 pitches, but Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer off Cody Allen in the eighth.
Royals starter Ervin Santana (8-9) gave up the three homers.
TWINS 6, ANGELS 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Trevor Plouffe had two hits and drove in the tying and go-ahead runs as the Minnesota Twins snapped a 10-game home losing streak with a victory over the Angels.
Plouffe’s two-run, two-out double in the fifth inning tied the game 3-all, and his bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Cory Rasmus (0-1) in the seventh put the Twins ahead as the Twins won at home for the first time since Aug. 15, avoiding the longest home losing streak since the franchise started in Washington in 1901.
WHITE SOX 5, TIGERS 1
CHICAGO — Chris Sale gave up a run and four hits in eight innnigs, denying Max Scherzer his 20th win, and Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the first inning as the White Sox beat the Tigers.
Sale (11-12) won for the fifth time in six decisions.
Scherzer (19-3) gave up five runs and six hits in four innings as he lost consecutive starts for the first time this season after Boston beat him Sept. 3.
It was Detroit’s fifth loss in six games, dropping the Tigers’ lead in the AL Central to 4½ games over Cleveland.
Cabrera was ejected after arguing that he was hit by a pitch.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 1, RANGERS 0
ARLINGTON, Texas — Clinching their first winning season since 1992, rookie right-hander Gerrit Cole had a career-high nine strikeouts over seven innings to outpitch Yu Darvish and lead the Pirates to a victory over the Rangers.
The Pirates (82-61) didn’t get a runner to second base against Darvish (12-8) until Marlon Byrd’s two-out double in the seventh. He came home when Pedro Alvarez followed with a double.
Pittsburgh had lost a season-high four games in a row since getting their 81st victory last Tuesday at Milwaukee to guarantee their first non-losing season in more than two decades.
Darvish is 0-3 his last five starts, all Rangers losses. The Japanese right-hander struck out six while allowing one run and four hits over seven innings.