Major league batting leader Daniel Murphy homered for the sixth time this year against his former Mets teammates and drove in four runs, leading Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals over New York 6-1 Saturday night.
The NL East leaders opened a five-game lead on the Mets. At 53-36, the Nationals set a team record for wins before the All-Star break, snapping the mark from 2005, the club's first season in Washington after the move from Montreal.
Murphy had a run-scoring single in the third inning, an RBI double in the fifth and launched his 16th home run in the seventh. He is hitting .349 overall - he's batting .438 (21 of 48) with 19 RBIs against the Mets after becoming a free agent in the offseason and signing with Washington.
Scherzer (10-6) gave up three hits and an unearned run in seven innings. He joined fellow Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg (12-0) in having 10 wins before the All-Star break.
Logan Verrett (3-6) gave up five runs in 6 2/3 innings.
