Washington Nationals blank New York Mets 2-0 to seal series – MLB Update
The Washington Nationals blanked the New York Mets 2-0 on Wednesday, September 14 to gain an incontrovertible three-game lead in the four-game series at Citi Field in New York, NY.
Nationals had a lot to gain from this game as they not only won a series on the road, but also found a skilled starter in Brad Peacock, who won his first game at Major League Baseball in his first start. The Nationals want to audition him as a starter and
they will now want to hand him a start or two to test his ability against the stronger sides.
Peacock pitched five scoreless innings amid just two hits to silence the Mets in what was a must-win game for the home side. The 23-year-old expressed his happiness on this achievement and described his experience as something that he will remember. Peacock’s
family, talking after the game, stated that Brad had always considered MLB as his home and now he is finally home.
Brad showed immense composure during his spell, especially in the fourth inning when a walk to Jason Bay loaded the bases with two outs. Peacock skilfully handled the situation, coming out victorious in the end. He did well to mix the traditional fastball
with the curveball and slider to exhibit his wide repertoire of deliveries.
Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson said that he is “impressed” by the youngster and that it was a good move to experiment Peacock in this game.
The relief pitchers did a commendable job to compliment Peacock’s performance, allowing just two hits over the remaining four innings. Tyler Clippard held his 34th game after a perfect eighth inning before Drew Storen improved his tally to 37
saves with a perfect inning in the depth.
The Mets showed versatility in their pitching but a lacklustre third inning cost them a game which, otherwise, could have gone to the wire. Mike Pelfrey leaked two runs to lose his 12th start of the season with just seven wins to advocate his
case. Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman were the run-getters for Washington.
Nationals are now level with the Mets at third place in the NL East standings and a win in the fourth game could well see them topple New York.
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