With a count of 0-2 and only one out, with the Nationals’ Mark Melancon on the mound, Rivera hit a long ball and put the Mets ahead 4 – 3.
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“We’ve got to go to Atlanta on Friday”, said Roark, spewing the usual rhetoric.
The first-place Washington Nationals are in the midst of another pennant race, aiming for their third National League East title in five years. NY managed four baserunners – one hit and three walks – over the final eight innings. But Fernando Salas suffered his first blemish since joining the Mets when he served up the aforementioned home run to Ramos.
Roark finished that night in NY (0-2) against the Mets this season, in spite of the fact that he had a 1.88 ERA and a.180/.268/.280 line against in 14 ⁄3 IP vs the Nats’ NL East rivals in two starts and one relief appearance this season.
“As we got into that ninth inning with a one-run lead, I got emotional”, Speier said.
The Nationals have won five of six while lowering their magic number to seven.
All told, Murphy went 31 for 75 (.413) in those 19 games against NY. “Our fans should be excited”, Collins stated.
It allows the manager and his players to stomach losses like Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to the Nationals a little easier when they know the other teams wild card chase didn’t gain any ground. They totaled three hits and just one of the last 16 batters reached base. “I think that’s part of why we’ve been playing very well”.
One of the reasons the Nationals have dominated the Mets this year and have that big division lead is former Met and NL MVP candidate Daniel Murphy. He threw a career-high 96 pitches in that game and 77 on Wednesday.NOTES: Washington manager Dusty Baker was not in the dugout after a death in the family, according to the team.
The Mets were shut out in the series finale in Washington. It’s the ninth time this season that Roark has tossed seven or more shutout frames, most in the majors (Jake Arrieta is second with seven). It was the 17th time in 30 starts this year that Roark has pitched seven innings or more and his season ERA now sits at 2.75.
NY opened the game with back-to-back singles and loaded the bases with one out, but Roark escaped by striking out Jay Bruce and getting T.J. Rivera on a fly ball. “And when you see your name, that’s when it’s time to get to work”. Syndergaard can start Sunday on normal rest, but Collins would rather give him an extra day and start him Monday. It was the third hit of the evening for the Pride of Throgs Neck, an engaging, never-drafted local making his first major-league start of the season, and rapping his first major-league home run ever.
Mets: LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder tightness), on the disabled list retroactive to August 15, felt “fine” throwing a 20-pitch bullpen session for Single-A Port St. Lucie, Mets manager Terry Collins said.
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Two innings later, NY caught a break when Curtis Granderson hit what should have been a double-play grounder to Ryan Zimmerman, but the ball went under Zimmerman’s glove and resulted in an RBI triple into the right-field corner. Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (13-8) has 205 strikeouts this year after recording 10 on Tuesday against the Nationals.
