Recap: NY Mets vs. Washington
Sports Network | September 20, 2009
Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Daniel Murphy doubled, tripled and knocked in a pair of runs, and John Maine tossed five innings of two-hit ball, as the New York Mets claimed a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals in the rubber match of a three-game set at Citi Field.
Wilson Valdez added a two-run triple, while Josh Thole and Carlos Beltran each had an RBI single for the Mets, who have won two straight after a six-game slide.
Maine (6-5) walked one and struck out a batter in lowering his earned run average to 4.13 this season. Francisco Rodriguez notched his 33rd save of the season after striking out the final batter in the ninth.
"I felt better than last start," Maine said. "I was just trying to throw strikes and let them hit it. I was just going with it. Let them put it in play."
Ryan Zimmerman had a RBI double, while Adam Dunn knocked in a run for Washington, which has dropped five of its last six.
Garrett Mock (3-9) took the loss after giving up four runs on nine hits in seven frames. The right-hander fanned five and walked two in losing his fourth straight decision.
"It was just a lackluster performance. We can't have that. We were just flat and that's not acceptable," Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.
The Mets grabbed the early lead in the second when Thole's infield single scored Murphy, who led off the inning with a triple.
New York then tacked on three more in the third. With runners on the corners and two outs, Beltran singled up the middle to chase in one, before Murphy followed with a two-run double, making it a 4-0 game.
Elmer Dessens and Sean Green combined to pitch a perfect sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Valdez's two-run triple down the right-field line in the home eighth, put the Mets up by a 6-0 margin.
Zimmerman's RBI double and run-scoring single from Dunn off Brian Stokes in the top of the ninth got the Nats on the board. After Elijah Dukes drew a walk, the Mets turned to Rodriguez, who struck out pinch-hitter Cristian Guzman looking to end the game.
The Mets host Atlanta for the start of a three-game series on Monday, while Washington begins a nine-game homestand against the Los Angeles Dodgers...New York improved to 10-5 against the Nats this season.
