Lucas Duda homered twice, and went 3 for 3 as the New York Mets moved to within a game behind the Nationals in the N.L. East with a 3-2 win on Saturday night at Citi Field in Queens.
Duda doubled in the bottom of the eighth to give New York a 3-2 lead after new Met Yoenis Cespedes was intentionally walked, a surprising decision to not take a chance against Cespedes with Duda batting as well as he has of late (6 for 11 since Wednesday).
Two losses to start a crucial three-game series against their rival for the division championship has seen plenty of criticism heaped upon Washington manager Matt Williams. As my editor pointed out, it makes little sense to not have Drew Storen or Jonathan Papelbon to not be pitching in a one-run game against the Mets, even if it’s not a hold/save situation. Former Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche, a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, has pitched more innings in the past two days than the back end of the Washington bullpen has.
HERO: Starting pitcher Joe Ross deserves plenty of credit for four hits and six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
GOAT: Michael Taylor had a bad night at the plate, with three strikeouts and no hits on four at-bats.
NEXT UP: New York can move into a tie for first place tomorrow night with Noah Syndergaard (5-5, 2.70) going up against Jordan Zimmermann (8-6, 3.36) at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
About Eric Hobeck