AP
If the Nationals’ intention Thursday night was to make a statement to the Mets, consider their mission accomplished.
With a lopsided, 8-2 victory at Citi Field, the Nationals took the first game of this big weekend series, won their third straight, moved to within five games of first place in the NL East and thoroughly outplayed New York in every facet.
Whether the trend will continue Friday night and beyond remains to be seen. But on this night, the Nationals appeared to flex some muscles, reminding the Mets who exactly won this division by 17 games last season and who remains the heavy favorite to repeat in 2015.