Washington, DC (Sports Network) – Ryan Zimmerman’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning sent the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets to begin a four-game series at Nationals Park.
Pedro Feliciano (2-4) came in to keep the game tied in the home ninth, but Willie Harris began the rally with a one-out walk. Nyjer Morgan followed with a perfectly executed bunt that went for an infield single, and Cristian Guzman singled to left to load the bases.
Ryota Igarshi came on to get out of the jam, but Zimmerman’s fly ball was just deep enough to plate Harris when right fielder Jeff Francoeur’s throw was off- line.
Morgan finished with two hits and an RBI, while Ian Desmond and Guzman also had a pair of hits apiece for the Nationals, who have won six of the nine games against the Mets this season. Livan Hernandez dropped his earned run average to 2.98 after throwing seven innings of one-run ball, allowing seven hits while fanning seven with no walks.
Matt Capps (1-3) earned the win.
Johan Santana pitched well enough to win, giving up one run, six hits and two walks in seven frames, but the Mets lost for the third time in four games. Ike Davis’ RBI single in the first provided the only offense.