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Church, Mets too strong for Nationals

Apr 24, 2008 - 3:41 AM By Todd Jacobson PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - Ryan Church probably could have drawn up the play that put his team up for good a hundred different ways and not come up with the unlikely scenario that transpired in the sixth inning of the New York Mets' 7-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

But it was Church's squib single off reliever Ray King that sparked a three-run rally for New York. The ball came spinning off the end of Church's bat and toward third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who fielded an awkward hop and threw wildly to first.

"I had a little Tiger Woods spin on the ball I hit to 'Zimm'," said Church, who went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in his return to Washington after being traded this winter with catcher Brian Schneider for outfielder Lastings Milledge.

Carlos Beltran, who singled to open the inning and chase starter Tim Redding, scored from first on the error. By the time the Mets were done in the frame, they scored twice more on two balls that did not leave the infield.

"Tonight we manufactured some things," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "We used our speed. ... We're going to come at you with speed, but tonight, we just tried to push it a little bit harder and put some pressure on them. We got them to make a few mistakes and sometimes you just have to score runs that way to get things going."

Johan Santana, New York's $137.5 million dollar lefthander, played a part in jump-starting the offense. Santana doubled twice - and in the process, he set an example at the plate.

"You can't have the pitcher showing you up," Randolph said. "Maybe that's what we need. The pitcher starts showing us up a little bit, we start taking it personally."

On the mound, the two-time Cy Young Award winner Santana (3-2) allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out four in seven innings to help the Mets snap a three-game losing streak.

"You come into these games, you want to do whatever to stop that losing streak we had - and at the same time, try and do my job," Santana said. "Everything fortunately went right. And we won the game. You want to stop everything right here and that's what happened."

After Duaner Sanchez pitched a flawless eighth, Billy Wagner extended his hitless streak to eight innings by getting the final three outs - two by strikeout - in the ninth.

Washington continued to struggle at the plate in this one.

The Nationals entered the game hitting a league-worst .227 despite a six-run outburst in a win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. Washington's offensive woes were best exemplified by the fact that Redding delivered his team's only extra base-hit - a two-run double in the fourth.

Redding (3-2) yielded three runs and four hits in five innings for the Nationals, who fell to 2-6 in their new ballpark.

Washington's first six batters were a combined 2-for-23, with both hits coming from Cristian Guzman.

"Everybody's got to look themselves in the mirror and everybody's got to do extra," King said. "Pitchers have got to hold them. Hitters have got to hit. Position players have got to make plays.

"Maybe we've got to play above our heads right now. But the main thing is, we've got to get a 'W'. And if it takes one guy stepping up and another guy following, that's what we need. Because right now we're playing bad baseball."