Flushing, NY - Mike Bacsik pitched seven strong innings, leading the Washington Nationals to a 6-2 win over the New York Mets in the opener of a four-game set.
Bacsik (4-6) scattered eight hits and allowed two runs with no strikeouts and one walk. Ryan Church and Austin Kearns each homered for the Nationals, who have won four of six.
Jorge Sosa (7-6) let up a season-high nine hits and five runs in six innings of work. Moises Alou returned to left field for the Mets. Alou had been sidelined since May 17 with a strained left quad. The veteran outfielder went 1-for-4 with a double and scored a run for New York, which has dropped two in a row after winning five of six.
The Nationals took the early lead with a three-spot in the second inning. Dmitri Young roped a leadoff double to left, and came home on Church’s double to right. Brian Schneider then ripped a one-out double to right, scoring another run, and Nook Logan followed with a ground-rule double that hopped the fence in left-center, scoring Schneider.
With runners at the corners and no outs in the home half, Lastings Milledge grounded into a double play, scoring the first New York run.
Church belted a solo homer to right-center with two outs in the third, restoring the three-run advantage for the Nats.
Damion Easley again brought the Mets to within two runs in the fifth, with a single to right that brought home one run and put runners at first and second with two outs. David Wright followed that with a groundout, though, ending the threat.
Kearns then led off the sixth with a shot to left, and the Nats held a 5-2 lead. The Washington rightfielder scored an insurance run in the eighth. After working a two-out walk, Kearns stole second, his first stolen base of the season, and came around on a Schneider single to right, giving the Nats a four-run pad.
Game Notes
In another roster move Friday, the Mets recalled reliever Jon Adkins from Triple-A New Orleans. The 29-year-old righty tossed a scoreless sixth…The Mets and Nationals meet on Saturday in a day-night doubleheader, making up a rainout from April 15. It will be the first twin bill of the season for the Nationals…The game ended a Nationals of 12 straight games decided by three runs or less…New York’s Carlos Beltran sat for the third consecutive game with a left abdominal strain.
