By ,
Published February 05, 2015
Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Curtis Granderson went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Matt den Dekker delivered a tie-breaking single in the eighth inning that helped the New York Mets post a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
Wilmer Flores also collected three hits, including a run-scoring single, with den Dekker and Ruben Tejada each finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI in New York's fourth triumph in five games.
Carlos Torres (8-5), one of four Mets hurlers to toss a scoreless inning in relief of Dillon Gee, received the win after New York scored twice in the eighth off Tyler Clippard to snap a 4-4 deadlock.
The NL East champion Nationals had a five-game win streak halted despite two RBI from Michael Taylor and two hits each from Jose Lobaton and Danny Espinosa.
Clippard (7-4) recorded a pair of outs after hitting Tejada with a pitch to begin the eighth inning, but den Dekker's hard ground ball got through the infield and Bryce Harper's throw from left field landed up the line as pinch- runner Eric Young Jr. slid home with the go-ahead run.
Young had put himself into scoring position by stealing second with den Dekker at the plate.
Flores then legged out an infield hit as den Dekker hustled home from second to up the Mets' lead to 6-4, which was increased further when Granderson drew a walk in the ninth, moved to third on a Kirk Nieuwenhuis double and scored on Tejada's single.
Jenrry Mejia allowed a pair of Nationals to reach in the bottom of the ninth, but averted damage to pick up his 28th save of the season.
Gee worked the first five innings and was reached for nine hits and four runs, three of which came in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Nats back from a 4-1 deficit.
Consecutive singles by Lobaton and Espinosa started the rally, with Nate Schierholtz's pinch-hit single plating Lobaton before Taylor followed a balk by Gee with a bloop hit to left that brought in both runners and knotted the score.
New York had put up a three-spot of its own in the top of the fifth to briefly move ahead. Daniel Murphy chased Nats starter Blake Treinen with a double that sent home den Dekker for a 2-1 edge, with Granderson later lacing a single off reliever Xavier Cedeno that knocked in two more runs.
"On this road trip he's gotten big hits," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Granderson. "His swing is so much longer through the zone now. "He just looks much better at the plate."
Treinen was charged with four runs on eight hits over his 4 1/3-inning stint.
"He pitched well enough to keep us in it," Nationals manager Matt Williams said of Treinen. "We could've pitched him further, but with what we've got it's not important that we do that right now. But he gave us a chance."
Granderson gave the Mets a quick 1-0 lead with a first-inning single that scored Flores. Gee kept Washington off the board until the fourth, when singles by Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche preceded Ian Desmond's sacrifice fly.
Game Notes
Treinen's effort ended a streak of 21 straight games in which Washington starters permitted three earned runs or fewer, a sequence that began Sept. 1 ... The win was just New York's fourth in the last 23 meetings between the clubs. Washington leads the season series, 14-4 ... Nationals center fielder Denard Span was held out of the opener after bruising his right knee making a diving catch during Tuesday's game ... Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud will not play in the doubleheader due to an undisclosed injury ... Gio Gonzalez will start the nightcap for Washington opposite New York's Zack Wheeler.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/mets-take-dh-opener-from-nationals