WASHINGTON ( Associated Press) – Max Scherzer looked solid through five innings in his return from neck spasms and batted in the fifth as the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 8-2.
Outfielders Starling Mart and Mark Kanha broke out of their offensive drought to add two hits and two RBI each during New York’s most impressive innings this season.
The Mets improved to 6-14 in their last 20 games, after losing 3-2 hours earlier at the end of a rain-affected game on Saturday.
Scherzer (3-2), 38, allowed one run and two hits against his former team, struck out six and scored two runs. He threw 83 pitches, 50 of which were strikes, and improved his ERA to 4.88.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner was ruled out of last Tuesday’s scheduled start in Cincinnati due to neck spasms.
Scherzer is 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA in his last four starts against Washington, and his 40 wins are third-most at Nationals Park, trailing only Stephen Strasburg (54) and Gio Gonzalez (41). ,
At the end of Saturday’s game, suspended after a rain delay that lasted 3 hours, 56 minutes, center fielder Alex Call made a spectacular catch in the ninth inning as the Nationals won 3–2.
CJ Abrams broke a 2–2 tie in the seventh against Dominique Lyons (0–1), who suffered his first loss with the Mets.
Call retrieved Michael Pérez’s drive into the wall in the ninth off of Kyle Finnegan with two outs, and Pérez had to be content with a single.
Brandon Nimmo came to bat and singled, and Jeff McNeil hit a fly ball that hit the wall for the call’s final out. Finnegan earned his eighth save in 10 chances.
In the first duel of the day, for the Mets, Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor 4–0; and Michael Perez made it 4-4, one out. Dominican Starling Mart 4-1.
For nationals, Mexican Joey Meneses 4-1. Dominican Jammer Candelario 2-1, single scored.
In the afternoon game, Puerto Rican Lindor went 5–2 with one run and one RBI, for the Mets. Dominican Mart went 4-2 with two runs scored and two RBI.
For nationals, Mexican Meneses 4-1
