Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bullpen rebounds from disaster
WASHINGTON — Justin Wilson and the bullpen held on this time, rookie Pete Alonso hit his major league-leading 45th home run and the Mets bounced back from a brutal loss to stop the Nationals 8-4 on Wednesday.
A day after a trio of Mets relievers was tagged for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in an 11-10 loss to the Nationals, three pitchers combined to close with3 1⁄3scorelessinnings.
After Wilson issued a two-out walk to Kurt Suzuki — whose three-run homer won it Tuesday night — Victor Robles followed with an easy grounder to Amed Rosario. The shortstop tagged second base for the last out, then zipped a relay to first, as if to make sure the Mets really nailed it down.
The Nationals’ lead atop the NL wild-card race was cut to three games over the idle Cubs. The Mets trail the Cubs by 4 1⁄2 games.
Mets catcher Wilson Ramos went 0-for-4, ending a 26-game hitting streak that tied for the second longest in club history. The slow-footed catcher was barely thrown out by second baseman Howie Kendrick on a grounder in the ninth.
The Mets have won 12 of 16 series since the All-Star break. The Nationals dropped a series for the first time since Aug. 9-11 against the Mets. The Mets won the season series 12-7.
Alonso connected for the second straight day and broke a tie with Mike Trout of the Angels and Cody Bellinger for the big league homer lead.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run shot in his first game in a month after being sidelined by a torn left hamstring.