Nats drop 7th straight, 9-3; Mets sweep 3-game series
The Nationals 10-inning scoreless streak ended with a 3-run seventh, but it still wasn't enough, as the Mets beat Washington 9-3, swept the 3-game series and handed the Nationals their seventh straight loss.
Collin Balester suffered his second straight defeat and fifth in his last seven starts. He gave up five runs on four hits, two of which were home runs and five walks. Balester struck out three and uncorked a wild pitch in throwing 97 pitches.
Balester didn't allow a hit in the first three innings and retired nine of the first 10 Mets before giving up a single and double to start the fourth. Carlos Delgado's groundout scored Argenis Reyes for the first run of the game. Carlos Beltran's sac fly made it 2-0.
Former National Brian Schneider hit a 2-run homer, to deep center, off Balester in the fifth to make it 4-0. Delgado led-off the sixth with his 26th homer of the season, an opposite field shot, and the Mets led 5-0.
Oliver Perez was sitting down Nationals hitters with ease thru the first six innings. He faced 22 batters, four over the minimum for six frames, before Washington got to him.
Aaron Boone reached on a fielders choice and moved to second when Wil Nieves walked. Pinch-hitter Pete Orr tripled off the wall in right-center, scoring both runners. Emilio Bonifacio, mired in a 1-27 funk, when he reached on a bunt single, allowing Orr to score and making it a 5-3 game.
The Nationals had two on with 1-out in the eighth, but Duaner Sanchez struck out Boone and David Wright made a great pick on Nieves' grounder and threw him out to end the inning.
Joel Hanrahan came on in the ninth and gave up four runs, two earned, on four hits and two errors. Pinch-hitter Damion Easley singled home two runs to make it 7-3. Two batters later, Ronnie Belliard booted a routine grounder to load the bases.
Delgado hit a sharp grounder past Boone at first, Bonifacio was there and fired to Hanrahan covering first, but his throw was wide and two runs scored. Bonifacio was charged with an error and the rout was on.
Final Linescore
Mets 9-8-0
Nationals 3-6-2
WP-Perez (9-7)
LP-Balester (2-5)
HR-Schneider (3), Delgado (26)
Postgame Notes
Pete Orr's triple was his first three-bagger since August 19, 2006 vs Florida while he was a member of the Braves. Orr is now batting .385 (5-13) with two doubles, a triple and four RBI as a pinch-hitter. After the game, Orr talked about the mood in the Nationals clubhouse.
Clubhouse Audio:Pete Orr
Lastings Milledge saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end. He was 0-3 with a walk.
Cristian Guzman and Jesus Flores were late scratches--Guzman with a sore thumb and Flores with a stomach virus. Both are listed as day-to-day.
Garrett Mock, who started and took the loss on Monday, pitched a scoreless seventh.
Saul Rivera tossed a scoreless eighth.
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals scoring, 7th inning
The Nats bats finally came to life in the seventh inning tonight. Pete Orr's pinch-hit, 2-run triple sparked a three run inning and the Nationals are only down by two.
With runners on first and second, Orr tripled off the wall in right, scoring Aaron Boone and Wil Nieves. Emilio Bonifacio's bunt single scored Orr to make it a 5-3 game.
Balester's subpar night
Collin Balester started off very well, but his wildness finally caught up to him. He was touched for five runs in six innings. Balester only gave up four hits, although two were homers, but he walked five. When you walk that many hitters, you try to be too perfect with your pitches and that's when the Mets hitters teed off on him. Of course it doesn't help that the offense is getting blanked, again.
6 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 3 K. 97 pitches, 50 strikes.
Mets scoring, 6th inning
Carlos Delgado took Collin Balester's 0-1 offering and deposited it into the seats in left to put the Mets up 5-0 in the sixth. It was Delgado's 26th of the year.
Balester walked Carlos Beltran, but Daniel Murphy grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. It appeared Balester had settled down, but he walked Fernando Tatis for the third time tonight. Brian Schneider grounded out sharply to first to end the inning.
Mets scoring, 5th inning
Former National Brian Schneider has increased the Mets lead in the fifth inning.
After a lead-off walk to Fernando Tatis, his second in as many at bats, Schneider hit a 1-0 fastball into the seats in left-center, putting the boys from Flushing up 4-0.
Mets scoring, 4th inning
Just when it looked like Collin Balester might be onto something special, the Mets spoiled the fun and scored two runs in the fourth.
Argenis Reyes led-off with a single and moved to third on David Wright's double. Wright pulled the ball down the line past a diving Ryan Zimmerman.
With the shift on, Carlos Delgado grounded out to Ronnie Belliard, who is playing short but was on the right side of second base. Reyes scored easily. Carlos Beltran's sac fly was deep enough to score Wright without a throw and the Mets have a 2-0 lead.
Balester thru 3 innings
Collin Balester looks very sharp thru the first three innings. Besides a lead-off walk in the third, he hasn't had any trouble with the powerful Mets line-up to this point. Eight of the nine outs have been thru the air.
3 IP, 0 H, BB, 2 K. 41 pitches, 23 strikes.
Starting Line-ups
Yet another line-up change for the Nationals. Jesus Flores is scratched due to a stomach virus. Wil Nieves will catch and bat seventh. Aaron Boone moves up to hit sixth.
A late change to the Nationals line-up. Cristian Guzman is scratched, Ronnie Belliard moves over to shortstop and will hit second. Aaron Boone will play first and bat seventh.
Mets
SS Jose Reyes
2B Argenis Reyes
3B David Wright
1B Carlos Delgado
CF Carlos Beltran
LF Daniel Murphy
RF Fernando Tatis
C Brian Schneider
P Oliver Perez
Nationals
2B Emilio Bonifacio
SS Ronnie Belliard
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
RF Austin Kearns
C Jesus Flores
1B Aaron Boone
LF Willie Harris
P Collin Balester
Game Preview
New York (64-56) at Nationals (44-77)
Last night was as bad as it gets for the Nationals. They lost their sixth straight game, were shutout for the 18th time and were kept off the scoreboard for the third time in their last six games.
Jason Bergmann was the sacrificial lamb, giving up 10 runs on eight hits and six walks in three innings. He was left to fend for himself during a 51-pitch third frame as the Mets scored eight times, sending 13 men to the plate.
The Washington offense? They managed just four hits, all singles, in the Mets 12-0 win.
Tonight, Collin Balester tries to salvage a win in the series finale. The Mets, with Wednesday night's win and a Phillies loss, are now tied for first in the NL East. New York sends Oliver Perez to the bump as they look for the 3-game sweep.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Collin Balester (2-4, 4.66) is coming off a decent outing, but he was out-pitched by CC Sabathia in Milwaukee last Friday.
Balester gave up four runs, three earned on five hits, a walk, an error and a wild pitch in five innings as the Brewers shutout the Nationals 5-0. Balester was lifted after five innings because he was due to lead-off the sixth and the Nationals needed offense.
Prince Fielder's RBI single in the first put Balester in an early 1-0 hole. Mike Cameron hit a solo homer, leading off the second and Balester's error in the third led to two runs, only one earned. He only threw 78 pitches, 53 for strikes.
Balester, making his fourth start at Nationals Park, is facing the Mets for the first time in his career. He's 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA at home, compared to 1-2 with a 5.23 ERA on the road.
Against the NL East, two starts, Balester is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. In his first two big league starts, the rookie walked six and struck out six in 10 2/3 innings. Since then, Balester has walked just five and fanned 19 in his next 26 innings.
LHP Oliver Perez (8-7, 3.90) was outstanding in his last start. He tossed seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball, as the Mets blanked the Marlins 3-0 last Friday. Perez walked three and struck out eight.
Perez, who hasn't won consecutive starts since May 11th and 18th, looks to knock-off the Nationals, who beat him back on April 24th. In that game, Perez was cruising thru the first four innings, giving up a single and two walks, before everything came apart in the fifth.
The fist four Nationals reached base, via two singles and two walks, including Shawn Hill, who walked to load the bases. Former Nationals Felipe Lopez singled home two runs and Ryan Zimmerman tied the game 3-3 with an RBI groundout.
In the sixth, Perez put two on with two out before being lifted. Aaron Heilman gave up a Grand Slam to Lopez, two of the runs were charged to Perez, and the Nats downed the Mets 10-5.
This is the seventh career against the Nationals for Perez. He's 2-3 with a 5.74 ERA and is 4-5 with a 4.21 road ERA in 13 contests.
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