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Nationals crush Rays

Jun 17, 2015 - 4:23 AM St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Nationals hit four home runs and received strong pitching from Tanner Roark in their 16-4 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

Clint Robinson's home run started a six-run second inning, Bryce Harper's 22nd long ball of the season led off a four-run fifth, and Wilson Ramos added insurance runs with home runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

Danny Espinosa had five hits and scored three times, Robinson had four and Harper finished with three hits. Robinson and Harper were both a triple shy of the cycle. The Nats finished with 23 hits total.

Roark (3-2) allowed a run on six hits and a walk in seven innings to help the Nationals split a two-game set in Tampa Bay before the teams go to Washington for two games starting Wednesday.

"Everybody contributed tonight," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "All in all, a good game for us tonight."

Alex Colome (3-3) lasted just two innings and allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks. Enny Romero was charged with five runs -- four earned -- before leaving with an injury, and two position players had to pitch an inning each.

Robinson's mammoth homer led off the second inning, and consecutive bunt hits by Espinosa and Michael Taylor started a rally. Walks to Denard Span and Anthony Rendon plated another run, and Yunel Escobar's single drove in two. After Harper walked, Ramos hit a sacrifice fly, and Robinson drove in the sixth run in his second at-bat.

Harper crushed a pitch off C.J. Riefenhauser over the rays tank in center field for a 7-0 Nats lead. Later in the inning, Taylor and Ian Desmond drove in runs with hits, and a fourth run scored when David DeJesus dropped a line drive to left field.

After Romero loaded the bases with one out, he exited the game with a back injury. Brandon Gomes promptly allowed run-scoring singles to Span and Rendon, and Escobar's sacrifice fly plated Washington's 13th run.

With utilityman Jake Elmore on the mound, Ramos hit a solo home run in the eighth. He came up an inning later against infielder Nick Franklin and homered again to put Washington up 16-1.

"I was just trying to save the bullpen's arms," said Franklin. "My main purpose was just trying to throw strikes."

The Nationals conceded that Tampa Bay run on a Joey Butler groundout in the fifth. Rene Rivera hit a three-run homer off Storen in the ninth.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria was in the lineup and went 2-for-2 after leaving Monday's game early with a wrist contusion ... Washington had not had 20-plus hits in a game since Aug. 13, 2012 against San Francisco ... The Nats' last game with 16-plus runs was May 20, 2011 against Baltimore ... Infielder Trea Turner, acquired by Washington as the player to be named later in the offseason's three-team trade between the Nats, Rays and Padres, made his Nationals debut for Double-A Harrisburg Tuesday and batted 0-for-4 ... Rays lefty Matt Moore allowed two runs on 4 2/3 innings for Class-A Charlotte in his third rehab appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024.