Stephen Strasburg was dominant, Jeremy Hefner was good, but not good enough and the Washington Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Mets on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field.
The 5-2 loss was the sixth straight for the Mets and their 12th in the last 13 games. During that time span they’ve been on a freefall from a tie for the Wild Card, just 4.5 games out of first in the NL East, to third in the East, now 11.5 games out of first and 6.5 games outside of the Wild Card spot.
Strasburg extended that freefall on Wednesday with another incredible outing. At one point over the course of the third and fourth innings, Strasburg struck out five consecutive Mets including unlikely victims Ruben Tejada and David Wright. He dominated the Mets over seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits. He walked no one and struck out 11.
Hefner couldn’t match him —how could he be expected to — but he was good. After allowing back-to-back homers to Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa in the second inning, Hefner went the next four innings allowing just one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out seven. He should make for a good stopgap in the rotation until Johan returns. Better than Miguel Batista, to say the least.
Hefner escaped trouble in the first after surrendering a one-out double to Bryce Harper, but wasn’t so lucky in the second, when he gave up the back-to-back homers to Morse and Espinosa, spotting the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
Ike Davis struck back against Strasburg to start the second, lining Strasburg’s first pitch of the inning down the right field line and just inside the foul pole for a solo dinger. The homer was Ike’s 16th of the season breaking a tie with David Wright for the team lead.
Hefner escaped another jam in the third that was not of his own creation. After a single by Steve Lombardozzi, Harper hit a grounder to second that should’ve been two. Instead got the Mets no outs as it clanked off Murphy’s glove. But Hefner buckled down, getting a red-hot Ryan Zimmerman to pop up for the first out. He then got some help from his backstop as Thole gunned down Lombardozzi trying to steal third. Two pitches later Hef finished the inning by catching LaRoche looking at a changeup.
The Nationals scratched another run in the fourth on some more Mets miscues. Danny Espinosa started it with a drive down the line that Jordany Valdespin thought was going foul. As Valdespin pulled up in front of the side barrier, the ball landed in front of him, then bounced into the stands for a ground rule double. After a single by Roger Bernadina put runners at the corners, Hefner got a grounder to first from catcher Sandy Leon. But Josh Thole couldn’t hang onto Ike’s throw home through the tag on Espinosa, who scored the third run as the ball popped loose.
The three runs were plenty of runs for Strasburg, who, following the second inning hiccup that featured two hits, retired the next 10 in order, 13 of the next 14 and 17 of the final 19 to face him, allowing just a double to Thole and a single by Valdespin in the process.
The Nats tacked on two more in the seventh inning when Adam LaRoche connected for a two-run bomb off of reliever Tim Byrdak. The Mets had a chance to get back in it during the eighth after Henry Rodriguez and Craig Stammen combined to walk the bases loaded with no one out. But the top of the order pushed across only one run — a RBI groundout by Valdespin. Tyler Clippard pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to give Washington a 5-2 win. The loss resulted in the Mets being swept on a homestand of at least six games for just the seventh time in team history and the first since 2002.
Game Ball: Half goes to Ike Davis, for hitting his team-leading 16th homer, a rare bright spot on a lost day at Citi Field. The other half goes to Jeremy Hefner for gutting out six innings and allowing just three runs while striking out seven. On any other day against any other pitcher, his fate may have been different.
Turning Point: The Nationals appeared to be trying to give the game away in the eighth when Rodriguez walked Thole and Torres. Stammen came in to walk Scott Hairston loading the bases. But Tejada’s sinking liner to center was nabbed by Bernadina, failing to produce a run. Valdespin hit a dribbler up the line that scored Thole but did little else and Wright grounded out to third to end the inning.
Random Stache Moment: Byrdak was clearly upset after the pitch that LaRoche blasted — a fastball — and it caused some turmoil as replays showed Byrdak shaking the fastball off twice, only to have Josh Thole insist he throw it upon the urging of pitching coach Dan Warthen. There have been no shortage of communication problems for the Mets over this streak and this was further evidence that things are coming undone.
Next Up: The Mets leave a terrible homestand at Citi Field behind and head out West for an 11-game trip that will take them to Arizona, San Francisco and San Diego. It begins in the desert with the Major League debut of Matt Harvey (7-5, 3.68 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 112 K in 110 innings at AAA Buffalo) on Thursday night. Harvey will be opposed by D-Backs All-Star rookie Wade Miley (11-5, 3.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 85 K). First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. and the game can be seen on SNY or heard on WFAN 660 AM.
