For almost three full seasons the New York Mets have owned the Nationals at RFK Stadium.
But all of the sudden, in the midst of a desperate race for the National League East title, the cavernous old ballpark on East Capitol Street has became their own personal house of horrors.
With the Nats all too happy to play the role of spoiler, the first-place Mets again blew a first-inning lead en route to a 9-8 loss on Tuesday.
This time, it wasn’t multiple defensive lapses that doomed New York, but a shaky pitching staff that’s been left in tatters during a five-game losing streak.
The Nats, who trailed 3-0 before batting in Monday night’s 12-4 win, were down 4-0 in the first inning this time. But they clawed back into it with one run each in the second, third and fourth and took the lead for good with five runs in the fifth off Mets starter John Maine.
The biggest hit was a three-run homer by Ronnie Belliard in the fifth. Eight different Washington relievers picked up starter Joel Hanrahan, who lasted just three innings. The Mets only scored against Winston Abreu in the fifth (two runs) and Chad Cordero in the ninth, falling one run short despite 16 hits.
Cordero retired the first two Mets he faced in the ninth before allowing three consecutive singles. But he then struck out Ruben Gotay with runners at first and third and two outs to notch his 35th save of the season.
New York (83-67) has seen its first-place lead shrink to just 2 games, pending the result of last night’s late contest between second-place Philadelphia and St. Louis. The Mets held a team meeting prior to Tuesday’s loss after committing 10 errors in their previous two games.
Not that the Nats (68-83) have much sympathy as they continue a quest to avoid last place in the National League East. They have becometough to beat at RFK in the second half, putting together a 20-10 record with just five games left before the venerable stadium hosts its last baseball game on Sunday against Philadelphia.
