NEW YORK -- Daniel Murphy is torching major league pitching and no one is burned more than his former New York Mets teammates.Murphy, who is leading the majors in hitting, homered for the sixth time this year against the Mets, drove in four runs, leading Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals over New York 6-1 Saturday night.Oh my gosh, how many superlatives can you say? Scherzer said when asked about Murphy. This guy is just absolutely hitting the cover off the ball. He just understands what he is doing at the plate. He has such a great feel for the strike zone and when he gets his pitch, he hits it, and he is hitting these guys pretty good.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 -- hes batting .438 (21 of 48) with 19 RBI against the Mets after becoming a free agent in the offseason and signing with Washington.Murphy refused to discuss his accomplishments against the team that he led to the NL pennant.His focus was on the Nationals, their season and winning this four-game series, with the Nats leading 2-1. Even being booed at Citi Field didnt seem to draw a reaction.I guess it means you are doing something to help your ballclub win a game, against that team, Murphy said. Thats the way I look at it.The NL East leaders now have a five-game lead on the Mets. At 53-36, they set a team record for wins before the All-Star break, snapping the mark from 2005, the clubs first season in Washington after the move from Montreal.Nationals manager Dusty Baker did not understand the booing. He added Murphys hitting reminded him of some of the great players he either played with or managed -- Orlando Cepeda, Rico Carty, Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Moises Alou..He is not missing much, Baker said. His concentration level is beyond compare right now.Baker is not surprised that Murphy has hit the Mets.Anybody who has gotten traded or came back to play their old team, definitely it means a lot to them, Baker said.Mets manger Terry Collins said Murphy is taking advantage of mistakes.You know, hes pumped up to play against us and show us we made a mistake, Collins said. Thats human nature and its part of the game. We just got to make better pitches. Were giving him balls to hit. They were good pitches to hit. Weve got to do a better job.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 on only four hits in 6 2/3 innings, but he was hurt by walks. His first three all scored, including one to Scherzer.The Mets staked Verrett to a lead in the first. Jose Reyes drew a leadoff walk, Curtis Granderson followed with a single and both runners advanced on left fielder Jayson Werths throwing error back to the infield.Scherzer minimized the damage, giving up a sacrifice fly to Neil Walker and striking out Asdrubal Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo. The hard-throwing righty cruised the rest of the way, fanning nine.THE EYE HAS IT:After walking Alejando De Aza with two outs in the seventh, Baker considered taking out Scherzer. He went to the mound and asked the righty how he felt. The pitcher said he was still strong and wanted to finish the inning.Baker wanted to see the look in Scherzers eye to confirm that, so he asked the pitcher which eye he should look at. Scherzer has a blue eye and a brown one.He said the expletive brown eye, Baker said with a laugh. The pitcher stayed in and got Travis dArnaud on a liner to left.Scherzer explained after the game, the brown eye, his left one, is his pitching eye.DE AZA STARTS: De Aza started for Cespedes in center field and and had two singles and a walk. He struck out to end the game with a heavy rain starting to fall and the fans getting up to leave.TRAINERSS ROOMNationals: Baker expects Joe Ross (7-4) to return to the roster after the All-Star break, but he did not have an exact dathe te. Ross was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month with right shoulder inflammation.Mets: Noah Syndergaard (arm fatigue) and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (strained right quadriceps) are not going to play in the All-Star Game in San Diego. Both will attend Tuesdays game. There was no definitive word on how long they will be out, but Collins indicated that neither injury was major.UP NEXTWashingtons Gio Gonzalez (4-8, 4.79 ERA) pitches Sunday against Steven Matz (7-4, 3.34) in a matchup of lefties. Gonzalez has lost seven of his last eight decisions, but he is 7-1 in his career at Citi Field, with a win this year. Matz has lost his last three decisions. Wholesale Custom Wizards Shirts . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Custom Gilbert Arenas Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. http://www.customwizardsjersey.com/ . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Authentic Custom Wizards Jersey . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Cheap Wizards Jerseys . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. CINCINNATI -- Cody Reed is taking his lumps at the major league level, but it is all part of the process.The 23-year-old Cincinnati Reds left-hander, who came into this season ranked as the second-best prospect in the organization, owns an 8.39 ERA through five starts with 23 earned runs allowed in 24 2/3 innings.Some flashes of brilliance are embedded in the rust, however. Reed (0-4) has fanned 29 batters, including nine in his big league debut to become the first Reds pitcher to reach that total in his first career start since Johnny Cueto in 2008.Reed was among a trio of heralded left-handed pitching prospects acquired from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Cueto last July. On Tuesday, Reed will again search for his first win when he faces the Atlanta Braves, a club he has yet to face. Cincinnati is hoping for a more extended outing from Reed, who hasnt pitched past the fifth inning since going seven in his debut.Rookie right-hander Tyrell Jenkins (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will start for Atlanta, and he will be facing the Reds for the first time. It will be Jenkins second career start, with his other four major league appearances coming out of the bullpen this season.In his only previous start, Jenkins threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball on July 6 at Philadelphia. He hasnt pitched since.With the left-handed Reed on the mound for Cincinnati, the Braves are expected to go with Anthony Recker behind the plate. The rotation between Recker and A.J. Pierzynski is something that still is developing.Well let Recker get the left-handers the next couple of days and see what weve got, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said Monday. I thought he did a good job (Sunday). He was in synnch with Julio (Teheran), and he can swing the bat.dddddddddddd. Theyll both play. A.J. was a big addition for us.Speaking of catching, the big news Monday from the Reds side is that Devin Mesoraco underwent surgery repair a torn labrum in his right hip. The procedure was performed in New York by hip specialist Bryan Kelly, who also repaired Mesoracos hip impingement in June 2015.Mesoraco had his second shoulder surgery after undergoing a procedure on a torn left labrum in May. He is expected to begin catching drills in mid- to late January.In 2014, Mesoraco, 28, became the first Reds catcher since Hall of Famer Johnny Bench to hit 25 homers and drive in 80 runs in a season.We certainly would like him to stay healthy and keep him on the field, manager Bryan Price said. Its always a crapshoot with any player. Hopefully, what hes doing is putting all this behind him so he can string together some healthy seasons.Tucker Barnhart has been getting the bulk of the playing time with Ramon Cabrera serving as an able backup.Reds first baseman Joey Votto will be looking to continue his hot streak on Tuesday after going 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in an 8-2 win over the Braves in the series opener. Votto who batted only .200 in May, is off to a blistering start after the All-Star break, 8-for-15 (.533).Ive had seasons where Ive started off really well, poorly, everything in between, Votto said. You have to take every challenge that comes your way. Early in the season, I struggled hitting fastballs over the plate. Thats step one, and go from there. ' ' '