Mets lose command in game, series vs. Nats

NEW YORK — A day after Noah Syndergaard went right after Bryce Harper in a Mets win over the Nationals, Bartolo Colon mostly avoided him — and paid the price. Seven combined walks for Harper and Jayson Werth played a significant role in the Nationals’ 7-1 win over the Mets, who mustered little offense of their own against Gio Gonzalez.

Daniel Murphy’s RBI single in the third inning and Anthony Rendon’s two-run hit in the fifth both capped rallies in which Harper walked to move Werth into scoring position. After Colon departed, the Nationals scored additional runs on a Murphy sacrifice fly and — fittingly — a Danny Espinosa bases-loaded walk. Mets pitchers issued 11 free passes in total, hitting another two batters with pitches.

It was plenty of offense for Gonzalez, who gave up a Yoenis Cespedes solo homer but little else over 6 1/3 innings. The Mets did not string together multiple baserunners in an inning until the seventh, when Felipe Rivero wriggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam to preserve a 5-1 lead.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDMaking BB-artolo pay: It had been over 11 years since Colon last walked five batters in a game, and the Nationals made sure to make him pay. Shortly after Colon issued consecutive free passes to Werth and Harper in the third inning, Murphy drove home Washington’s first run with an RBI single off third baseman David Wright’s glove. Two innings later, Rendon’s two-run hit came three …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com