Game #25: Nationals 4, Mets 3

The Nationals' Danny Espinosa was out at first when the Mets' Ike Davis grabbed a throw from third baseman David Wright. (NYTimes.com)

The Mets have been so hot that only a former World Series MVP could stop that train. Well, guess what? He found the emergency break.

Livan Hernandez held the Mets' bats down just enough, while Ian Desmond celebrated his new fatherhood with a triple and a round tripper, and the Nationals stopped the Mets' win streak at six, topping New York 4-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• It wasn't too bad a loss; Hernandez is a proven vet who can still throw a big game once in a while. And he did: 8 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 5 Ks. Clearly, he outdueled Chris Capuano, who only lasted 5 2/3 and gave up 4 runs, picking up the loss.
• Two other bad incidents highlight The Bad Stuff tonight. In the bottom of the 3rd, Jason Werth hit a ground-rule double, bringing home a run. Carlos Beltran appeared to get a bad jump on the ball, and what seemed like a catchable ball sailed over his partially outstretched glove. As New York lost by one, this mental mistake proved to be the decider. Unfortunate that Beltran had his most awkward moment in right field at this time (ironically, just as the WFAN announcers were talking how he made the transition as seamless as possible).
• Also standing out in a bad way was the Amazin' top of the fifth. The Mets got a gift when Pudge Rodriguez bobbled a Chris Capuano sac bunt and couldn't get anyone out, loading the bases with one down and Jose Reyes coming up. New York only managed one run on Reyes's sac fly; Daniel Murphy was sat down looking for the final out. The Mets had been so good getting runners home from scoring position during the streak, and without those big hits, couldn't pull it out.

The Good Stuff:
It was only a one-run loss, so there was some Good Stuff to talk about:

• Ike Davis stretched his hitting-streak to 10 games, going 2-4 and knocking in a run on 6th inning double.
• While he could only bring one home in the 5th, Reyes did go 2-3 and scored one of the runs.
• Pedro Beato's ERA is still a spotless 0.00: he went 2 innings in relief and faced only six batters.

Final Analysis:
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The streak stops at six. It's a respectable loss, to Livan Hernandez, but it sure would have helped to go into Philadelphia riding Lucky #7. Hopefully we can get some of that momentum back and use Friday's game to get the train rolling again in time to face Halladay and Lee. All aboard, Mets faithful.

MM