Mets 5 - 6 Nationals
Final
  for this game

Nationals come back late, avoid sweep

Sep 2, 2013 - 4:45 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Jayson Werth's go-ahead, two-out RBI double highlighted a three-run bottom of the eighth inning and lifted the Washington Nationals to a 6-5 win over the New York Mets in the finale of a three-game set.

Washington trailed 5-3 heading into the home eighth before Scott Rice allowed back-to-back singles to Scott Hairston and pinch-hitter Denard Span. Bryce Harper then bunted both runners into scoring position with one away before Gonzalez Germen (1-2) replaced Rice on the mound.

Hairston scored on Anthony Rendon's groundout before Zimmerman rolled a grounder back up the middle. Omar Quintanilla ranged far to his left to get a glove on the ball and threw wildly to first. Span rounded third and Lucas Duda's relay throw home wasn't in time. Werth then ripped a two-bagger into the gap in right-center to plate Zimmerman for the go-ahead run to make it 6-5.

Rafael Soriano tossed a scoreless ninth to notch his 36th save of the season. Erik Davis (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless top of the eighth.

Werth tallied two doubles and also scored a run, while Zimmerman had three hits for Washington, which avoided a three-game sweep and are 6 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the NL's second wild card spot.

"He's been swinging the bat good. He's driven," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said of Werth.

Matt den Dekker, who was called up Wednesday following the trade of Marlon Byrd, hit his first career homer for the Mets, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

"Certainly, this is one we're going to look back on and kick ourselves a little bit for letting it get away. But yeah, winning a series is big," Mets manager Terry Collins said.

New York jumped out to a 3-0 lead after plating two runs in the first and another in the second.

Consecutive doubles to start the game by Eric Young and Daniel Murphy accounted for the first run, and Duda's single into right-center two batters later made it 2-0.

Dekker's blast into the second deck in the second made it 3-0.

Tyler Moore's two-out RBI single in the home second and Hairston's two- out single in the fourth trimmed the deficit to 3-2 before Murphy's one-out RBI single in the fifth upped the Mets' advantage to 4-2.

Duda and Wilson Ramos traded two-out RBI singles in the seventh to make it 5-3

Game Notes

New York Mets starter Jonathon Niese allowed two runs on 10 hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, while Nationals starter Ross Ohlendorf surrendered four runs on nine hits over five frames ... Murphy had two hits, two RBI and a run scored.






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