Game #106: Mets 8, Nationals 5

Dillon Gee gets his 10th win of the season, going 6-2/3 innings in an 8-5 win over the Nationals. (NYDailyNews.com)

The Met machine continues to produce offensively, and once again needed just about every run.

New York got to Chien-Ming Wang early and the Mets overcame a struggling bullpen to hold on for the 8-5 win over the Nationals.

The Good Stuff:

• Chien-Ming Wang was making his first start in nearly 2 years. In his heyday, he won 19 games in consecutive years for that other New York baseball team. I'm sure he's a decent guy and I wish him the best...after tonight. Because tonight it was an offensive feast for Terry's boys. Jose Reyes led off the game with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Justin Turner singled and then a red-hot Daniel Murphy singled home Reyes. David Wright singled to load the bases and Angel Pagan's base hit brought home another. Jason Bay's groundout plated one more and Lucas Duda's sac fly made it 4-0 after the 1st.
• The Amazin's got two more off Wang in the 4th: Bay singled and Duda reached on an error. Bay was thrown out at home by Rick Ankiel off Ronny Paulino's single (check the replay; Werth must have planned that miss on the ball knowing Ankiel was behind him), but runners went to second and third. Then Dillon Gee helped out his own cause with an RBI single, and Reyes brought home another on a sac fly.
• In the 6th, two runs came in thanks to two-base hits: Bay led off with a double, came home on Paulino's double, and Paulino in turn came home on Reyes' double to make it 8 runs for the Mets, their fourth straight game crossing that run threshold.
• The offensive explosion was enough for Dillon Gee to continue his near-mastery of Washington: he picked up his 10th win by allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking 4 and striking out 5.
• Ryota Igarashi finished out the 7th and after the bullpen nearly collapsed in the 8th, DJ Carrasco came in to put the fires out, striking out Danny Espinoza and Ryan Zimmerman to end the bases-loaded National threat. Jason Isringhausen then came in for a 1-2-3 9th and his 298th career save.

The Bad Stuff:

• Well, there is the matter of why DJ Carrasco had to come in and save the day. Bobby Parnell wasn't sharp, allowing 2 earned runs. Tim Byrdak led Parnell's second run come in as he failed to retire any of the two men he faced. Fortunately things didn't get as close as they did in Cincinnati yesterday, but Mets fans must have had that in the back of their heads as Washington strung together hit after hit after hit.

Final Analysis:
Five in a row, and three A.B. (After Beltran). These Mets continue to never say die, and with this win they're at their best mark of the whole season, 4 games over .500. As unlikely as it is, it's not impossible that New York will still be in it late in September. At this rate, they'll be fighting till the final day of the season.

MM