Nationals Beat Mets; 6th Straight Loss

This was supposed to be a pitching duel between the future of National League East — Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg. But the Nationals spoiled it by shutting down Strasburg. Instead, we got John Lannan, but we still got a pitching duel.

The two pitchers exchanged zeros until the fourth, when Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo homer off of Harvey to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Harvey tired in the sixth, walking two batters and allowing a single to load the bases without getting any outs before being pulled.  Robert Carson came on and got three straight outs — a foul pop, an infield pop and a fly to right. Excellent job by Carson to keep it a 1-0 game.

So Harvey went five innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks. He was dominant, striking out 10 Nationals.

Lannan also faltered in the six, leaving with runners on first and second and two outs. Christian Garcia plunked Kelly Shoppach on his first pitch to load the bases. Pinch hitter Ike Davis came up and hit a fly to center that Bryce Harper was able to track down to keep the Mets from scoring.

Bobby Parnell pitched his way into trouble in the seventh, allowing two walks and a hit and leaving with the bases loaded and one out. But Justin Hampson was able to induce a double play to get the Mets out of the inning unscathed.

The Nationals made it 2-0 in the eighth when Jon Rauch allowed a solo blast to Ian Desmond.

The Mets were able to get runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth, but pinch hitter Daniel Murphy flew out to end the game.

Mets lose 2-0 — their sixth straight loss, all at home. They scored a total of nine runs during the homestand. Just pathetic.