Recap: Washington vs. NY Mets
Sports Network | August 14, 2008
Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer and Oliver Perez pitched effectively into the seventh frame, leading the New York Mets to a 9-3 victory over the Washington Nationals to sweep the series in Washington.
The Mets have won three straight and six of eight, taking a half-game division lead over Philadelphia, which is currently facing the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Perez (9-7) went 6 2/3 frames, giving up three runs on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
The Mets bullpen finished the game by allowing just three walks and zero hits and runs in 2 1/3 innings. Carlos Delgado homered and drove in two runs, and Carlos Beltran added another RBI in the victory.
Collin Balester (2-5) took the loss for Washington, yielding five runs on four hits with five walks and three strikeouts over six frames. Pete Orr hit a two-run triple -- his first three-base hit of the season -- for Washington, which has lost seven in a row.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth, when New York took a 2-0 lead. Argenis Reyes singled and David Wright doubled in front of Delgado's RBI groundout. Beltran's sacrifice fly plated the inning's second tally.
In the fifth, Fernando Tatis walked before Schneider crushed a pitch over the wall in center, his third home run of the season, for a 4-0 edge. Delgado hit a solo shot in the flowers just over the left-field fence in the sixth, making the score 5-0.
Washington rallied against Perez in the seventh, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Wil Nieves walked with Aaron Boone on first, putting two men on base with one out. After Willie Harris popped out, Orr tripled home both runners. He then scored on Emilio Bonifacio's base hit.
New York added four insurance runs for its bullpen in the ninth. Easley drove home Tatis and David Murphy with a single and shoddy defense allowed two more runners to score. Wright reached on a throwing error later in the frame, loading the bases for Delgado, who hit a chopper that could not be thrown cleanly by Bonifacio, allowing two runners to score.
The Mets have won eight of the 12 meetings with the Nationals this season...Orr has five RBI on the season...Wright collected his 34th double in the victory...Beltran notched his 80th RBI and Delgado reached 78 RBIs with two on the game...Attendance 31,058.
