6/4 Game Recap: Mets Blow Lead in 9th, Fall to Nats 3-2

Tonight at Nationals Park, the Mets played the first of a three game set against the Nationals in Washington DC.

May 30, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher

(39) pitches against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Nats opened the scoring in the third inning, when Ian Desmond hit a solo homer off Jeremy Hefner to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Mets fought back with a big assist from the Nats.  After Jordany Valdespin reached on a dribbler that was generously scored a hit, Rick Ankiel grounded a potential inning ending double play to Adam LaRoche at first base.  However, LaRoche’s throw to second base was wild, resulting in both runners being safe.  After a sacrifice bunt by Jeremy Hefner, red hot Omar Quintanilla ripped a two run triple down the first base line to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

The Nationals threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs against Jeremy Hefner, but he escaped the jam by getting Ian Desmond to ground out to David Wright.

The scored remained 2-1 Mets until the bottom of the ninth.  Bobby Parnell came in to attempt to close it out, but gave up a leadoff double off the right center field wall to Ryan Zimmerman.  After Parnell uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Zimmerman to advance to third, Adam LaRoche tied the game at 2 with a basehit through the drawn in infield between first and second.  Ian Desmond followed with a double that put runners on second and third with none out.

After the Mets walked Roger Bernadina intentionally to load the bases in order to set up a force at every base, Steve Lombardozzi hit a sacrifice fly to shallow left field to drive in LaRoche and give the Nationals a 3-2 win.

Highlights:

• Jeremy Hefner got the start for the Mets and tossed 7 tremendous innings.  He allowed 1 run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7.

• Omar Quintanilla delivered another multi-hit game, with a 2 run triple in the 5th and a double in the 8th.

• Rick Ankiel went 0 for 3, and is now 2 for his last 31 with 14 strikeouts.

• Brandon Lyon retired the side in order in the 8th.

• Bobby Parnell blew the save in the ninth, failing to record an out.

Thoughts:

The Mets and Nationals each had four hits heading into the ninth, and the Mets were able to carry a 2-1 lead into the final frame because they played flawless defense while the Nats kicked the ball around.  Unfortunately for the Mets, Bobby Parnell had his first legitimately poor outing of the season, blowing the save in the ninth while failing to record an out.

Next Up:

The Mets play the second game of their three game set against the Nationals tomorrow night at 7:05.  Dillon Gee gets the start for the Mets.  He’ll be opposed by Dan Haren.

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