Final Score: Nationals 5, Mets 2 -- Amazins fall behind early, lose by inches at end

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Jon Niese fell in a 3-0 hole in the first inning, but the Mets weren't totally dead until the ninth, when Jayson Werth made a leaping catch to take a possible home run away from Daniel Murphy.

Well, Jon Niese was going to have a poor outing eventually. It would just have been nice if that moment had coincided with the awakening of the Mets' offense. The lefty was behind the eight ball right from the get-go, as David Wright botched an in-between hop on an Anthony Rendon ground ball that he could have turned into a double play. Instead, the play was ruled an error and the Nats got runs on a single by Jayson Werth and a sac fly by Wilson Ramos.

Daniel Murphy had another chance to turn two for the Mets when Tyler Moore hit a one-hopper his way, but Murphy bobbled the ball just long enough for Moore to reach first and for the third Washington run to score. Tanner Roark mostly frustrated the Mets tonight, but they finally broke through when an Anthony Recker double put runners on second and third with nobody out in the fifth. Ruben Tejada's ground out and a double by Eric Young Jr. were enough to get a pair of runs across and make the score 5-2.

Roark gave way to the Washington bullpen, and it dominated the Mets for three inning before closer Rafael Soriano came on to make things interesting. With two outs and no one on base, Soriano walked pinch-hitter Juan Lagares as well as Young Jr. Murphy followed by ripping the first pitch he saw deep to right field. Werth, however, had it measured and timed a leap at the wall perfectly to ensure that the ball was caught and the game was over.

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