Span extends hit streak to 20 with leadoff homer

By Bill Ladson

September 10, 2013

NEW YORK -- Nationals center fielder Denard Span extended his hitting streak to 20 games by hitting a leadoff home run against the Mets on Monday night.

With right-hander Carlos Torres on the mound for New York, Span worked the count to 2-2 before he hit the ball over the right-field wall for his fourth home run of the season. It was also the first leadoff home run for the Nationals this season.

Span ended up going 3-for-5 during the 9-0 victory and raised his batting average to .282.

"I don't have words," Span said. "I feel like I gave away a lot of at-bats early on in the season. It feels good to get in a groove and to be able to contribute. Better late than never."

During the streak, Span is 34-for-83 (.410) with two home runs and seven RBIs. Span has a long way to catch up to the Nats' record set by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who had a 30-game hitting streak that went from April 8 to May 12, 2009.

Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashinNats.