DENVER — Trea Turner nearly hit for the cycle for a second straight night, finishing a triple shy, and Bryce Harper had four more hits to run his average to .432 as the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Wednesday.
Turner lined one of three Washington homers, with Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy also going deep, to help the Nationals improve to 8-1 on their 10-game trip.
Tanner Roark (3-0) worked his way out of several jams to throw five solid innings. He allowed two runs and struck out four.
Never quite settling in on a cool night, Tyler Chatwood (2-3) surrendered five runs in five innings.
Turner followed his cycle the night before with a solo shot in the fifth for his second homer of the season. Zimmerman hit a two-run shot later in the inning to give Washington a 5-0 lead.
Harper kept up his torrid pace at the plate with four hard hits, including a double. It was his fifth four-hit game of his career and third this season.
Roark ran into trouble in the fifth when the Rockies loaded the bases. He walked DJ LeMahieu to force in a run and gave up another run on Nolan Arenado’s fielder’s choice. With two outs and two on, Roark struck out Carlos Gonzalez with a 77-mph curve. Gonzalez broke his bat on the ground in frustration.
For the second straight night, a two-out walk in the second inning to the pitcher came back to haunt the Rockies. After Chatwood missed on a 3-2 fastball to Roark, Adam Eaton followed with a two-run single.
On Tuesday, German Marquez issued a two-out walk that turned into a five-run frame in a game the Nationals won 15-12. They have taken two of three in the four-game series with Colorado.
Nationals: Reliever Koda Glover was placed on the disabled list with a left hip impingement. He’s 0-1 with two saves in 11 relief appearances. ... The Nationals recalled LHP Matt Grace from Triple-A Syracuse to step in for Glover.
Rockies: OF David Dahl (ribs) will take batting practice in the next day or two. He’s hoping to get in some at-bats during extended spring training in Arizona next week. “I feel good,” Dahl said. “Really good. No problems.”
Umpires: Home plate umpire Marty Foster took a foul tip off the mask in the third and was checked on by Colorado’s trainer along with crew chief Mike Winters. Foster stayed in the game.
Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the third. ... Gonzalez became the sixth player to suit up in 1,000 games for the Rockies. ... Roark surpassed the 600 career innings mark Wednesday.
The Rockies will be without one of their most reliable relievers after LHP Mike Dunn, who is from Farmington, went on the 10-day disabled list due to back spasms. Dunn is 2-0 with a 1.17 in 10 appearances.
To take his place, the Rockies reinstated RHP Chad Qualls (forearm tightness) from the DL.
Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 1.35) will throw Thursday. The Rockies counter with RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-0, 2.08), who’s 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA at Coors Field this season.
