Byrd hits two homers in rare laugher for Mets

WASHINGTON -- New York Mets right fielder Marlon Byrd had a positive vibe going into Wednesday's game against the Washington Nationals and starting pitcher Dan Haren.

"I was telling Rick (Ankiel) I was feeling good in batting practice," said Byrd, a veteran outfielder and one-time Washington outfielder. "Tonight I was swinging at strikes. I had a good night."

More precisely, he had a good first third of the game, as he hit a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo shot in the third as the Mets crushed the Nationals 10-1. It was the sixth multi-homer game of Byrd's career.

"He takes good care of himself," Mets manager Terry Collins said of the 35-year-old veteran. "He does things to stay in shape in case he is not in the lineup. He has had a good career, and he is still playing."

The win broke a four-game losing streak for the Mets (23-33) as starter Dillon Gee improved to 4-6 after entering the game with a 5.68 ERA. Gee beat the New York Yankees in his previous start.

"It feels good to do it again," Gee said. "I had to battle a little bit more today. I made pitches when it really counted."

New York had 15 hits, including three homers, and center fielder Juan Lagares had a career-high three hits and made a nice running catch to end the game on a line drive by Ryan Zimmerman in the right-center gap. Mets catcher Anthony Recker had two hits and three RBIs.

"We needed one bad. We needed one real bad," Collins said. "We have been in our share of close games. We could take a breather and relax a little bit."

Haren (4-7) gave up the three homers as the Nationals (29-30) slipped below .500 once again and lost for the fifth time in the last seven games. The Nationals had 10 hits but failed to produce with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.

"I don't know. He just was struggling hitting his spots, it looked like to me," Washington manager Davey Johnson said when asked if Haren was healthy. "And like his pitches were a little flat. When he throws that many pitches in that few innings, you know he's having a little problem locating the ball. No, I think he's healthy. I mean, he's been pitching pretty good. This just wasn't one of his better ones, but we just turn the page on it."

One of the few bright spots for Washington was the major league debut of pitcher Ian Krol, who was called up from Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday. He gave up a hit but fanned the other three batters he faced in a scoreless sixth inning.

Did he know he was going to pitch?

"I had no idea. That is the way I like it," he said.

The Mets added insurance as Recker hit a double to left to drive in Byrd to make it 8-1 in the seventh against Washington reliever Erik Davis, another rookie.

Gee then had an RBI single to make it 9-1, and Daniel Murphy had an RBI double to make it 10-1.

Gee went seven innings and allowed nine hits and one run with seven strikeouts.

New York got a two-run single with the bases loaded by Recker, who received a rare start at catcher, to make it 7-1 in the top of the fifth against Washington reliever Craig Stammen.

The Mets took a 4-1 lead as David Wright hit a two-run homer, his eighth of the season, in the top of the third.

Two batters later, Byrd hit a solo homer to left to give the Mets a 5-1 advantage. Byrd, who played for the Nats in 2005-06, had staked the Mets to a 2-1 lead in the second when he homered to center.

Ian Desmond gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single to left.

NOTES: Johnson announced that the Nationals will place RHP Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list. Strasburg threw just two innings Friday at Atlanta before he came out of the game with a lower right lat strain. He had been listed to start Thursday, but the Nationals announced during Tuesday's game that LHP Gio Gonzalez would start Thursday. Johnson said a pitcher from Triple-A Syracuse would be called up to start Saturday in place of Strasburg. A possible candidate to start could be veteran RHP Ross Ohlendorf, who has fanned 11 batters in each of his last two starts for Syracuse. RHP Nathan Karns is slated to start for Washington on Friday. ... Nationals LHP Ross Detwiler (oblique) threw a bullpen session before Wednesday's game, and Johnson said Detwiler would make a rehab start in the minors before pitching for Washington. ... Several members of the Mets visited wounded soldiers at a medical center in suburban Maryland on Wednesday. "It was awesome. Some of those soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice. It was very humbling," said John Buck, the regular Mets' catcher.