Nationals fall short against Mets 3-2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon did not say a thing right after a strike call he disagreed with in the third inning of Washington's 3-2 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday.

Flipping his bat was enough to get Rendon tossed by umpire Marty Foster.

"I don't think my mouth even opened to chew gum," Rendon said. "It's pretty funny. It's comical, to say the least. He had a vendetta out for me or something."

Moments after Rendon was kicked out, so was Dave Martinez, earning his first ejection as a manager and then offering an old-school protest by throwing his cap and kicking up dirt. So he watched in his office as Asdrubal Cabrera hit an RBI double and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, helping the Mets come back to beat the Nationals despite Bryce Harper's fifth homer.

Reliever Hansel Robles (1-0) gave up that opposite-field solo shot in the sixth, but still was credited with the win.

Jeurys Familia got a five-out save to seal the fourth victory in a row for the Mets, who are 6-1 under new manager Mickey Callaway after going 70-92 in 2017.

"People always talk about, 'Man, it's early,' or 'You need these games late.' We need every game. That's a blunt way of putting it," said Todd Frazier, who drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout off Brandon Kintzler (0-1). "I don't care if it's early, middle season or late. Every win counts."

It was the fourth consecutive loss for the two-time defending NL East champion Nationals and their rookie skipper. They have gone from 4-0 to 4-4, with all the defeats against division rivals.

That includes an 8-2 loss to the Mets in Thursday's home opener, when Washington shortstop Trea Turner was ejected after complaining about a called strike. The Nationals kept right on registering their displeasure in the first inning Saturday; Rendon, Harper and Ryan Zimmerman all visibly reacted to calls by Foster.

"They have good eyes. All of them were coming up and saying, 'The balls are in.' And some of them were in," Martinez said.

He didn't think what Rendon did "warranted a toss that quick," which is why he left the dugout.

"At some point," Martinez said, "you've got to protect the players."

Rendon said he thinks "there has to be an improvement" when it comes to umpiring.

"They don't get cut. They don't get benched. They don't get sent down to Triple-A, whatever it might be," Rendon said. "It's just sad that there's no accountability for them."

Crew chief Joe West told a pool reporter that Foster felt that Rendon's toss of his bat "was showing him up" and that an umpire in that situation has "to do something, or he loses all respect from the players."