Gee, Mets fall to the Nationals

Washington— The New York Mets have lost two straight to the Nationals in Washington and they have the home run to blame. On Friday night, New York was beaten in the ninth inning by a game-ending homer off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman that gave Washington a doubleheader sweep.

Three early blasts off of Dillon Gee were the difference on Saturday in the Nationals’ 4-1 victory.

Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Denard Span homered in a span of five batters in the second and third innings, providing all of the Nationals’ offense.

New York has dropped two straight to Washington after an 11-0 rout in the doubleheader opener on Friday afternoon.

“The home runs are killing us, there’s no doubt,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.

David Wright had two singles and an RBI, but the Mets labored against the usually laboring Dan Haren (5-11). The right-hander pitched seven innings for his first win since May 9, allowing one run and three hits.

Desmond and Span hit back-to-back homers against Gee (7-8) in the second inning and Harper followed with a two-run shot in the third to score Haren, who had doubled.

“All the balls were up, belt high over the plate,” Collins said. “Certainly, one thing we know they can do— they’re a dangerous club, got good power.”

Harper returned to the starting lineup after being limited to pinch-hitting duty in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. The AllStar outfielder aggravated his left knee while diving for a ball in the opener.

After Haren’s leadoff double in the third, Harper hit his 15th home run of the year.

A home run by Harper isn’t surprising, but one by Span certainly is. The former Minnesota Twins outfielder hit his first home run with the Nationals and first for anyone since Oct. 2, 2012, a span of 426 plate appearances.

“The balls they hit out, they were mistakes, they weren’t good pitches,” said Gee, who pitched seven innings, allowing four runs and six hits. “They did a good job. I was happy to at least get through seven innings.

“That was big. But the damage had been done.”

The game was delayed by rain for 62 minutes with one out in the bottom of the eighth.