Mets 2 - 3 Nationals
Final
  for this game

Nationals rally late, edge Mets

Aug 1, 2011 - 12:23 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Rick Ankiel went to third on a pitch in the dirt and scored easily on Ian Desmond's chopper over the mound in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Nationals to a 3-2 win over the Mets.

Washington won with a rally that came after New York tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the ninth on Scott Hairston's two-out solo homer off closer Drew Storen.

Hairston had two homers in the game for the Mets, while Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse had back-to-back RBI doubles in the game for the Nationals.

Washington won the final two games of the three-game set on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann pitched six shutout innings, giving up seven hits and a walk while striking out six.

Ian Desmond, Zimmerman and Morse hit three straight doubles off Mets starter Jon Niese to start the bottom of the sixth, giving Washington a 2-0 lead and putting Zimmermann in line for his first win in three starts.

"It's just a shame we couldn't save that for Jordan Zimmermann. What a game he pitched," said Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

Sean Burnett served up Hairston's solo homer to left field leading off the seventh, drawing the Mets within a run. And after Tyler Clippard tossed a perfect eighth, Hairston knocked his game-tying homer off Storen in the ninth, also to left field.

Storen (6-2) got the win after blowing a save for the fourth time this season.

New York's Bobby Parnell (3-3) took the loss while getting only one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Parnell gave up a leadoff single to Jesus Flores and then hit Ankiel with a pitch. Brian Bixler bunted into a force play -- Mets first baseman Daniel Murphy charged it and gunned Flores out at third -- for the inning's only out.

Taking a big lead, Ankiel bolted to third on Parnell's wild pitch in the dirt and then scored the game-winning run when Desmond knocked a ball over the pitcher's head.

Mets second baseman Willie Harris was there, but his throw home wasn't nearly in time to catch the sliding Ankiel.

Earlier, Zimmermann escaped trouble that he made for himself in the sixth after balking to move Murphy to third base and David Wright to second with one out. He fanned Angel Pagan and Jason Bay to escape trouble.

Wright singled in the inning, but was 1-for-4 to snap his seven-game streak of getting at least two hits. Steve Henderson owns the Mets record with eight multiple-hit games in a row from July 12-21, 1979.

Niese allowed two runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six without a walk.

"It was frustrating. I felt a lot better than what the end result (of the game) was," he said.

Game Notes

The Nationals are 2-4 on a nine-game homestand...The Mets finished 6-4 on a 10-game road trip and are headed home for 10 straight games, starting with three against the Marlins beginning Monday.






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