After winning the first two games of the series, Washington (58-94) reverted to form. The Nats squandered promising opportunities at the plate. They had runners thrown out on the bases. And the bullpen allowed enough insurance runs to keep the Mets from sweating too much despite a few late-inning Washington rallies.

“They scored enough runs. They kept coming and scoring runs,” said Nats manager Manny Acta. “Everybody we brought out of the bullpen – except [right-handed reliever Garrett] Mock – they couldn’t stop them.”

Jose Reyes led off the game for New York with a home run – the third time he has done that this season and 14th time in his career. Carlos Delgado followed later in the inning with another homer off Martis. And a team whose top five batters entered the night a combined 3-for-33 in the series finally produced.

With just one change – Daniel Murphy replaced Ryan Church in the No. 2 spot in the batting order — the Mets’ top five was 8-for-21 with eight RBI, seven runs scored, a triple, four homers and three walks.

“You can only keep those guys down for so long,” Acta said. “I’m glad they’re waking up now in the third game. Because when those guys are on … they’re that good.”

The Nats scored single runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings. Elijah Dukes then hit a two-run homer in the seventh – his 13th of the season and seventh in his last 18 games — to trim New York’s lead to 8-5. But Washington stranded five runners in scoring position and 11 overall.

Catcher Wil Nieves batted a career-best 3-for-5, including a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to bring Washington within two runs. But former Nats reliever Luis Ayala, traded to New York last month, struck out rookie Roger Bernadina with a man on first and two outs to end the game.

Carlos Beltran belted two homers for the Mets. It was his third multi-homer game of the year and 25th of his career. The homers also came from each side of the plate, the sixth time Beltran has accomplished that feat in one game.

He also made a fine running catch on a ball hit deep into center field by Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the eighth. That long drive came with runners at the corners and two out and Beltran’s catch prevented two runs from scoring.

With the win, New York (84-67) remained 1/2 game behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (85-67) in the National League East. But the Mets did stay 1/2 game in front of the Milwaukee Brewers for the wild-card lead.

After back-to-back solid starts to begin his big-league career, Martis (0-3, 6.23 ERA) struggled from the start on Wednesday. His fastball had too much movement and the Mets notched three homers, a triple and two walks in Martis’ three innings.

“[Martis] was just flying open and his ball was running away. We were trying to pitch inside to lefties and everything was going outside,” said Nieves. “And his command wasn’t too good. When you can not throw your fastball for a strike then they just sit on the change-up and hit it.”

Nats notes


» The Nationals announced Wednesday that injured outfielder Austin Kearns (left foot), first baseman Dmitri Young (hip), second baseman Ronnie Belliard (right groin) and catcher Jesus Flores (left ankle) will not play again this season.

“They’re just going to take their time, heal properly and we’ll see them next year in spring training,” Nats manager Manny Acta said. “I don’t think it makes any sense at this point to have a guy play at less than 100 percent. Or to have a guy work so hard to get 100 percent and play the last two games of the season without having at-bats for so long.”

» The Nats have extended their affiliation agreements with low-A Hagerstown and short-season A Vermont, both minor-league teams announced Wednesday. The player-development contracts are for two years. The Nats and Suns have been affiliated since 2007. Vermont has been affiliated with the Montreal/Washington organization since 1994.

» In other minor-league affiliation news, a report in the Miami Herald on Wednesday claimed the Florida Marlins will sign a player-development contract with Triple-A New Orleans when Major League Baseball officially allows formal negotiations to begin later this week. With the Cleveland Indians expected to take over in Columbus – the Nats’ AAA affiliate the last two years – and the New York Mets reportedly headed to Buffalo, that likely leaves only Syracuse and Las Vegas as viable AAA options for Washington, according to baseball sources.

» The Nats announced their 2009 schedule on Wednesday. The home opener is April 13 against their National League East rival Philadelphia Phillies. Washington hosts a three-game interleague series with the Boston Red Sox from June 23-25 and again play six interleague games against the Baltimore Orioles. The home schedule also features a four-game weekend series with the Chicago Cubs. The Nats have a pair of 10-game homestands and three nine-game homestands. Opening Day is April 6 at the Florida Marlins.