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LaRoche, Zimmerman help Nationals rout Rockies

DENVER (AP) — Adam LaRoche homered twice, Ryan Zimmerman collected his 1,000th career hit and also homered, and the Washington Nationals routed the Colorado Rockies 12-5 on Tuesday night.

Ian Desmond went 4 for 4, Michael Morse had four hits and Tyler Moore also connected for the Nationals, who had a season-high 21 hits, which tied the club mark since the team moved to Washington in 2005.

They had 11 extra-base hits, the most since becoming the Nationals.



Dexter Fowler and Jonathan Herrera homered and Jordan Pacheco had three hits for the Rockies, who have dropped 15 of 19.

Gio Gonzalez (10-3) picked up the win despite allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits in six innings. He struck out seven.



Zimmerman entered the game with 998 career hits and reached the 1,000 mark in his third at-bat, a single to right in the fifth inning. He added his fourth home run of the season in the sixth to finish with three hits.

The game was close when the Nationals broke it open in the fifth against reliever Guillermo Moscoso. Desmond had a two-run double and Moore a three-run homer in a five-run outburst that made it 9-3. Zimmerman hit a solo homer and LaRoche hit his second of the game, a two-run shot, in the sixth to make it 12-4.

Moscoso gave up eight earned runs in just 1 2-3 innings.

Working within the 75-pitch limit set by the Rockies, starter Christian Friedrich (4-5) left after retiring Bryce Harper on his 70th pitch to lead off the fifth. He allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out three in 4 1-3 innings.

LaRoche put Washington up 1-0 in the second with his 14th home run of the season. Morse’s two-run double in the third made it 3-0.

Colorado tied it in its half of the inning on Carlos Gonzalez’s RBI double and run-scoring singles from Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton. Cuddyer scored on Harper’s throwing error to make it 3-3.

Gio Gonzalez made it 4-3 with a two-out RBI single in the fourth.

NOTES: Before the game, Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca asked to be reassigned and he was made a special assistant to GM Dan O’Dowd. Bullpen coach Jim Wright and Triple-A pitching coach Bo McLaughlin will serve as co-pitching coaches for the remainder of the season. … LaRoche now has 17 career multihomer games. … The Nationals will send RHP Jordan Zimmermann (3-6) to the mound Wednesday. The Rockies are expected to call up LHP Edwar Cabrera from Double-A to start for Colorado.

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