Nats beat Mets 4-0, win second straight road series

By Dan Kolko

Nationals

April 11, 2012, 12:48pm

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FLUSHING, N.Y. - The Nationals will head back to D.C. for their home opener possessing two series wins. Washington beat the Mets 4-0 this afternoon, giving them their second straight road series victory and a 4-2 record as they return to the nation's capital. Stephen Strasburg outdueled Johan Santana in an early season battle of the aces, as Strasburg went six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. The Nats righty threw a career-high 108 pitches before giving way to the 'pen, and Ryan Mattheus, Sean Burnett and Henry Rodriguez closed it out, combining for three scoreless innings and six strikeouts. In a game when the Nationals' hitters barely had to take the bat off their shoulders in order to push any runs across (the Mets allowed a whopping 10 walks today), Washington scored once in the second to take the early lead, and then got a single insurance run in the seventh, eighth and ninth. Ian Desmond and Xavier Nady each had two hits for the Nats.