Mets blank Nats again to finish perfect homestand
NEW YORK — Tomás Nido went 4 for 4 with three RBIS at the bottom of the batting order, Carlos Carrasco combined with three relievers on New York’s second consecutive shutout and the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 Wednesday to finish a perfect homestand.
Francisco Lindor extended his RBI streak to 10 games, matching Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for the second-longest in franchise history. New York went 6-0 against NL East rivals Philadelphia and Washington for its first undefeated homestand of six or more games since a 10-0 run in April 2015.
On deck, a much stiffer challenge.
The first-place Mets, riding their longest winning streak of the season, now head to California for a 10-game trip against the Dodgers, Padres and Angels that starts Thursday night.
New York (35-17) is 18 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2015 regular season 90-72 on the way to its last World Series appearance. The Mets began the day with a 10 ½-game lead in the NL East, tied with the 1971 San Francisco Giants for the largest in National League history entering June.
Nido had an RBI single in the fourth inning, and another run scored on the play when center fielder Dee Strange-gordon fumbled the ball for an error. Lindor hit a sacrifice fly that scored Nido in the seventh, and the light-hitting catcher added a two-run double in the eighth.
Nationals left-hander Evan Lee (0-1) lasted 3 ⅔ innings in his big league debut after getting called up from Double-a Harrisburg. He allowed two runs and four hits.
Carrasco (6-1) matched his career high with five walks and pitched out of trouble all afternoon against the last-place Nationals. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings but stranded eight runners.
Seth Lugo gave up one hit over two innings before Adam Ottavino and Edwin Díaz finished a six-hitter on the 10th anniversary of Johan Santana’s no-hitter — the first in Mets history.
It was New York’s ninth shutout this season, most in the majors, and it followed a 10-0 whitewash of Washington on Tuesday night. The Mets are 13-2-1 in series this year — though their only two sweeps came on this homestand. The six-game winning streak marks their longest of the year.