NEW YORK -- Noah Syndergaard knows he needs to speed up.Not his fastball; he throws harder than most anyone. His delivery, thats whats still way too slow.Bryce Harper hit two doubles and became the latest player to swipe a base against Syndergaard as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 4-1 Friday night.Washington won its fourth in a row and leads the NL East by 10 1/2 games over the wild card-contending Mets. Like a lot of teams, the Nationals came out running on Syndergaard, stealing four bases in the early innings.In the next five days, going to work on getting quicker again, he said.Tall and slow to the plate, Syndergaard has had 45 runners steal with him on the mound -- the most against any pitcher since Hideo Nomo in 2001, ESPN Stats & Info said. Only six runners have been caught with Syndergaard pitching.Trea Turner led off the game with a single, stole two bases and scored on Harpers sacrifice fly.Yeah, hes real fast, very aggressive, and Noahs going to have trouble with those kind of guys, Mets manager Terry Collins said.Harper doubled with one out in the fourth, stole his 19th base with two outs and came home on a single by Wilson Ramos.Its all around the league that he doesnt hold runners yet, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.Baker said the strategy does more than set up runs. It also seems to rankle Syndergaard.Hes prideful, Baker said. After a steal, he added, he looks at the runner and doesnt like it very much.Syndergaard (12-8) gave up just three hits in seven innings and retired his final 10 batters.Along with shutting down the Nationals in the middle innings, Syndergaard might have shut down the crowd, too. Earlier this week, he wrote on Twitter and said on video that he wasnt a fan of fans doing the wave.Harpers double set up Anthony Rendons two-run single in the ninth.Daniel Murphy singled in the ninth, and has a hit in all 14 games against the Mets this season. He also stole a base against the team he boosted to the World Series last year.A.J. Cole (1-1) earned his first major league win, giving up one run and three hits in six innings. He struck out five in his fourth career start.Asdrubal Cabrera homered for the sixth time in eight games, sending a drive over the right-center wall in the Mets fourth. His 19th home run came one pitch after he hit a long fly that barely hooked foul into the upper deck in right field.Mark Rzepczynski, Koda Glover, Oliver Perez and Mark Melancon combined for three innings of scoreless relief. Melancon closed for his 38th save.CABRERAS POWEROf Cabreras 19 home runs, 18 have come as a shortstop. Thats one behind the club record for the position set by current teammate Jose Reyes in 2006.COVER CHARGEReyes struck out twice in going 0 for 4, but he still managed to knock the cover off the ball. Literally, he did. In the first inning, Reyes hit a foul that kept spinning quickly in the batters box, with a flap of the ball coming loose. Reyes and Ramos watched it spin into the dirt for several seconds.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (sore elbow) threw a bullpen and was feeling good, Baker said. There was no timetable for his return to the rotation, but Baker figured probably pretty soon.Mets: Collins said LHP Steven Matz (shoulder tightness) will head to the teams spring training complex in Florida after this weekend and start throwing again Monday. Matz is on the disabled list and hasnt pitched since Aug. 14.UP NEXTNationals: RHP Tanner Roark (14-7, 2.87 ERA) is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA at Citi Field in seven games, four of them starts.Mets: RHP Robert Gsellman (1-1, 3.72) makes his second major league start. Among those in attendance will be Laurie Hernandez, who won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team and will throw out the first ball. Hydro Flask Wit . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Hydro Flask Nederland . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.hydroflaskkorting.com/ . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Hydro Flask 24 OZ . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Hydro Flask Coffee .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. CINCINNATI -- The St. Louis Cardinals got two regulars back from injuries on Tuesday but lost shortstop Aledmys Diaz, sidelined indefinitely by a broken right thumb.The Cardinals activated Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Moss from the disabled list before the opener of a series in Cincinnati. Peralta started the season on the disabled list recovering from a torn ligament in his left thumb, played in 30 games and went back on the DL. Moss had an injured left ankle.Diaz was hit by one of Andrew Cashners pitches during a game in Miami on Sunday. He went on the 15-day disabled list and will need more than two weeks to heal.The Cardinals also added left-handed reliever Zach Duke, who was obtained in a trade with the White Sox on Sunday. They optioned left-hander Deann Kiekhefer and outfielder Randal Grichuk to Triple-A Memphis.ddddddddddddSt. Louis is expecting to get leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter back later this week. Hes on a rehab assignment recovering from an oblique injury.Manager Mike Matheny decided to use Stephen Piscotty in the leadoff spot on Tuesday for the first time this season. Hes batted primarily fourth. Piscotty has struggled lately, snapping an 0-for-15 streak on Sunday, so Matheny decided to move him to a different spot temporarily.If Stephen was locked in, I doubt hed be hitting first, Matheny said. Once we have everybody around, Stephen will be in the middle of the order. ' ' '
