The Washington Nationals once again failed to complete a series sweep as they fell to the New York Mets, 3-1 Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park.
New York knuckleballer R.A. Dickey was the story as he pitched 7.1 shutout innings and allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out eight. Chien-Ming Wang had a comparatively rough outing for the Nationals, allowing eight hits and three walks while striking out just one batter over his 5.1 innings of work.
The game was scoreless until the top of the 5th inning, when Lucas Duda's two-run home run into the first row of the right-centerfield bleachers gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. New York added a run in the 7th inning when Daniel Murphy's single scored David Wright.
Ryan Zimmerman provided the final margin in the ninth with a solo home run to left-center field, his third of the season.
The Nationals resume interleague play this weekend with a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
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