Mets catch Nats for first after weekend sweep

[August 03, 2015]  NEW YORK -- First place, meet the Mets.
 
 Rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard threw eight strong innings Sunday night, and Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda homered in a five-pitch sequence in the third inning as the New York Mets completed a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-2 win in front of an electrified crowd of 35,374 at Citi Field.

The Mets (55-50) ended an eventful homestand by moving into a virtual tie with the Nationals (54-49) atop the National League East. It is the first time since Citi Field opened in 2009 that the Mets have held at least a share of first place this late in the season.

"We're excited," manager Terry Collins said. "We know we've got 50-something (games) to go. We've got to play those guys six more times, but this is a huge weekend for us."

It was a week unlike any other at Citi Field, which is normally a ghost town by the time the trading deadline arrives. But the Mets, who haven't had a winning season since 2008, upgraded the game's worst offense by acquiring infielders Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson on July 24 -- one day after Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw retired the first 18 Mets batters he faced -- and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on July 31.

Those moves energized the lineup, which hit 18 homers in the final eight games of the homestand. The Mets had 18 homers in 28 games between June 20 and July 24.

"Guys are excited about the way the team is shaping up," Collins said. "We've got a lot of pieces we've added that are definitely going to help."

The additions also galvanized Mets fans. A total of 114,534 fans turned out to watch a sweep that began Friday, when infielder Wilmer Flores -- who wept on the field when he thought he was about to be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday -- homered in the 12th inning to lift New York to a 2-1 win.

Duda, who has nine homers in the past eight games, hit two round-trippers and accounted for all three RBIs in a 3-2, comeback win Saturday.

That generated a buzz for a rare primetime, nationally televised game Sunday, when the Nationals took a quick 1-0 lead on a one-out homer in the first by second baseman Anthony Rendon.

Granderson's two-out, two-run homer gave the Mets the lead for good, and Murphy (solo homer) and Duda (two-run homer) followed suit to whip the crowd -- much of which hadn't even sat down yet after Granderson's homer -- into a deafening frenzy.

"Great series," Murphy said. "Syndergaard was unbelievable today. Lucas has been on fire. Just a lot of fun to be a part of it is probably the best way I can describe it."

Syndergaard (6-5) retired 13 straight after Rendon's homer and ended up allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out nine. After giving up a homer to third baseman Yunel Escobar in the sixth, Syndergaard wriggled out of a two-on, one-out jam later in the inning by retiring first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on a flyout and left fielder Jayson Werth on a groundout.

In the eighth, Syndergaard ended his night by striking out right fielder Bryce Harper on a 99 mph fastball with a runner at second.

"Just an unbelievable night," Syndergaard said. "And we're looking forward to things to come."

Right-hander Tyler Clippard -- who was acquired by the Mets on July 27 and moved into the eighth-inning setup role the next day when right-hander Jenrry Mejia was suspended 162 games for a failed drug test -- earned his first save for New York with a one-hit ninth.

Rendon had three hits for the Nationals, who had been alone in first place every day since June 20.

"Starting to win ballgames starts tomorrow," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "That's as far ahead as we look. Our business is to try to win ballgames from here on out."

Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (8-7) was strong outside of the fateful third inning. He gave up the five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings.

"Tonight was one of those nights when I made two mistakes, and it looks a lot worse than it was," Zimmermann said.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Mets placed OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis (left shoulder/neck discomfort) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled OF Michael Conforto from Triple-A Las Vegas. Conforto was optioned to make room for OF Yoenis Cespedes on Saturday, but he never left New York as the Mets decided what to do with Nieuwenhuis. ... LF Michael Cuddyer (left knee inflammation) headed to the Mets' spring training facility in Florida to begin baseball activities. He was placed on the disabled list July 22. ... Nationals C Jose Lobaton started for the fourth time in eight games. He started just four of 16 games between July 3 and July 24. ... The Nationals were swept in a three-game series at Citi Field for the first time since May 25-27, 2009.

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