Nationals rally vs. Familia in ninth, but fall 4-3 to Mets in 10th

If the Nationals are going to make noise in October, they're going to have to beat some elite opposing arms. Like Noah Syndergaard, one of the top starters in the game right now. Or Jeurys Familia, one of the top closers in baseball.

They couldn't do it to Syndergaard tonight, managing just four hits in seven innings. They nearly did it to Familia, rallying from two runs down in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings.

But then the Mets returned the favor and beat Nationals closer Mark Melancon, getting a stunning home run from T.J. Rivera in the top of the 10th to emerge with a wild 4-3 victory that left everyone's heads spinning at the end of a chaotic final few minutes.

Rivera took an 0-2 cutter deep to left, notching his first career homer and becoming only the third player to hit the ball out of the park against Melancon this season.

The most pertinent facts at the end of all this: The Nationals' lead in the National League East is back to nine games with 17 to play, while their magic number to clinch the division title remains nine heading into Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

For a moment, this was shaping up to be one of the Nationals' most dramatic wins of the season. Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, they wasted no time getting to Familia. Daniel Murphy legged out an infield single to lead things off. Third baseman Jose Reyes then airmailed his throw across the diamond, moving two runners into scoring position.

Anthony Rendon's groundball single through the left side brought home Murphy and advanced Bryce Harper to third. And when Familia couldn't handle Wilson Ramos' hard comebacker, Harper scored the tying run as the crowd of 25,796 came to life.

But with a golden opportunity to win the game right there, the Nationals couldn't finish off the rally. Ryan Zimmerman lined out softly to first and Clint Robinson lined into a double play that left the runners unsure whether second baseman Rivera had snagged the ball in the air or off the ground.

The late rallies overshadowed the pitchers' duel that had played out over the previous eight innings. In a rematch of starters from a game at Citi Field only 11 days ago, rookie A.J. Cole hung in there but couldn't outduel Syndergaard again.

Cole escaped two-on jams in both the first and second innings, relying on his slider to strike out three batters. But he couldn't escape another jam in the third, watching as the Mets turned Asdrubal Cabrera's leadoff double into a run on Rivera's two-out single to left.

His pitch count beginning to climb, Cole got into trouble again in the fifth, though it might have been a different story had Zimmerman been able to glove Curtis Granderson's hard grounder down the first base line. Instead, the ball rolled all the way into the right field corner, bringing Yoenis Cespedes home with the go-ahead run. Moments later, Granderson scored on Rivera's sacrifice fly to center, extending the Mets' lead to 3-1.

The Nationals threatened a few times against Syndergaard, but they converted only once: Ramos' RBI double to right in the bottom of the second.

Otherwise, the Nats were stymied by the big right-hander every time they had an opportunity to do more damage. Zimmerman grounded out and Danny Espinosa struck out following Ramos' double in the second. Espinosa, Stephen Drew and Trea Turner struck out in succession after Zimmerman's leadoff double in the fifth. And Harper struck out in advance of Rendon's deep fly out to left following Murphy's double to quash a rally in the sixth.

Murphy's two-bagger did continue the second baseman's impressive streak against his former team. Murphy now has a hit in all 18 games he's played against the Mets this season.