Nationals win doubleheader opener, knock Mets from postseason contention

Josh Harrison's sixth-inning RBI snapped a tie as the host Washington Nationals eliminated the New York Mets from playoff contention by coming back to earn a 4-3 win in the opener of a doubleheader on Saturday.

The defending World Series champion Nationals (24-34) kept alive their hopes of not finishing alone in last place in the NL East. The Mets (26-32), who needed to sweep the remainder of the four-game series and get plenty of help to earn a wild card berth, missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Brock Holt led off the sixth by walking against Miguel Castro (2-2) and went to third on a single by Yan Gomes. After Castro struck out Luis Garcia, Edwin Diaz entered and Harrison hit the first pitch he saw to right field for what would normally be a single. Holt raced home from third as Brandon Nimmo threw to second to force Gomes.

The rally made a winner of Max Scherzer (5-4), who bested Jacob deGrom in a battle of Cy Young Award winners. Scherzer, who won the AL Cy Young in 2013 and the NL Cy Young in 2016 and 2017, allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings.

The win was the 175th of Scherzer's career. He is the fifth active pitcher to reach the mark. The victory also ensured he would finish with a winning record for the 11th straight season.

Will Harris threw a one-hit seventh for his first save.

Andrew Stevenson hit a pair of homers, including a game-tying inside-the-parker in the fifth in which Mets left fielder Dominic Smith crashed face-first into the wall. Holt scored the Nationals' second run on a wild pitch. Gomes finished 3-for-3.

Wilson Ramos hit a two-run homer in the third and Amed Rosario homered in the fourth to extend the Mets' lead to 3-1.

deGrom, who won the NL Cy Young the last two years, saw his hopes at a three-peat likely vanish after surrendering three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out 10 over five innings. While deGrom leads the NL in strikeouts (104), his ERA rose to 2.38, more than a half-run higher than Trevor Bauer's league-leading figure (1.73).

--Field Level Media