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.
The Mets got on the board with a run in the first. Jesus Feliciano led off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After David Wright struck out, Davis' single plated Feliciano for the early lead.
Santana was on his game from the outset, allowing just one runner to reach scoring position in the first four innings.
Washington nearly tied it up in the fifth, when Desmond led off with a double that glanced off the top of the wall in deep left-center. Desmond advanced to third on a groundout, but was stranded after Hernandez struck out and Morgan flied out.
Hernandez was sharp following the first inning, as well. He retired Feliciano with runners on second and third in the second and didn't allow another New York player to reach scoring position through the seventh. Washington finally gave him some support with the tying run in the seventh inning.
In the Washington seventh, Desmond led off with a single and went to second on a bunt. After moving to third on a wild pitch with two outs, Morgan lined a key RBI single to left to equalize the game.
The Nats began a 10-game homestand to finish the season's first half and will also play San Diego and San Francisco...Mets shortstop Jose Reyes did not play for the second straight game after he experienced stiffness in his right side on Wednesday.