NEW YORK (AP) – Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy and streaking Lucas Duda homered in a span of five pitches, a sudden power strike that charged up Citi Field and sent the New York Mets past the Washington Nationals 5-2 Sunday night for a three-game sweep.
Noah Syndergaard (6-5) struck out nine over eight innings, and New York pulled within percentage points of the first-place Nationals in the NL East. Boosted by a trio of lively crowds, the Mets completed their first three-game sweep of Washington since May 2009 and boldly pronounced themselves legitimate playoff contenders.
It was a serious statement from the Mets, now 7-6 against the Nationals this season after going 4-15 versus their division rivals last year. New York finished a wildly eventful 6-4 homestand that featured one trade that fell through, the additions of four new players – including slugger Yoenis Cespedes – and a 162-game drug suspension for reliever Jenrry Mejia.
Coming into the series, the Nationals had won 18 of their last 21 at Citi Field. The teams meet six more times this year, Sept. 7-9 at Washington and Oct. 2-4 in New York during the final series of the regular season.
Anthony Rendon hit his first homer of the season, and Yunel Escobar also went deep for Washington.