Despite two long clutch homeruns by Scott Hairston, the Mets lose 3-2 at Washington and drop their three game series with the Nationals.
Just like last night, the Mets could not get anything done offensively as the squandered the few opportunities that they had to score against Jordan Zimmermann. Daniel Murphy ran the Mets out of a bases loaded situation in the third, when he got caught too far off of first base after a David Wright fly-out to shallow right field.
The Amazins also squandered an opportunity in the sixth with runners on second and third and one out. Zimmermann was nearing the end of the line, but he had just enough in the tank to escape the inning by striking out Angel Pagan and Jason Bay.
Jon Niese took the hill for the Mets and he certainly pitched well enough to win this ballgame. He threw strikes early and often and fooled a few Nationals with that mind-bending curveball of his.
Although Niese did give up two runs on three straight doubles to start the sixth, those lone two earned runs on 5.1 innings with 6 strikeouts kept the Mets in the ballgame. But you can’t win if you can’t score.
The Mets got on the scoreboard when Scott Hairston, who led off the seventh pinch-hitting for Lucas Duda, drove a Sean Burnett pitch over the bullpen in left field for his third pinch-hit homerun of the season, bringing the Mets within one.
Hairston, who stayed in the game at right field, hammered another one, this time with two outs in the ninth inning off of the Nationals closer that tied the game.
But it just was not meant to be. Bobby Parnell came into the ninth hoping to force this game into extra innings. Parnell was not sharp out of the ‘pen as he allowed the first two hitters to reach base via a single and a hit by pitch.
He was helped out by Murphy when the first baseman charged a bunt aggressively and got the lead runner out at third base, but Parnell wasted the reprieve when he threw a slider in the dirt that allowed Rick Ankiel and Brian Bixler to move up to second and third with one out.
Ian Desmond then chopped home the winning run, when the ball bounced off of the outstretched glove of Parnell.
Despite dropping two of three in Washington, the Mets escape their 10-game road trip at 6-4. They will start a three game series tomorrow night at Citi Field against the Marlins, before hosting an important three game series against the Braves. Speaking of the wild card leading Braves, they lost 3-1 to the Marlins so the Mets are still 7.5 games out.
Back to the New York Mets Newsfeed