Nationals 14, Mets 1
WASHINGTON -- Rookie pitcher Taylor Jordan got his first major-league victory and catcher Wilson Ramos blasted the first grand slam of his career to highlight an 18-hit attack as the Washington Nationals crushed the New York Mets 14-1 on Sunday.
Denard Span and Ian Desmond added four hits for the Nationals, who ended the post All-Star Game homestand 4-7 with three wins in a row against the struggling Mets.
Jordan (1-3), in his sixth major-league start, allowed one run and five hits in six innings with a career-high seven strikeouts. He retired the first nine batters.
Ramos capped a five-run uprising in the third with a grand slam off Mets' starter Carlos Torres (1-2), who entered the game with an ERA of 0.94. That made the score 8-0 after Desmond had driven in a run earlier in the inning to make it 4-0.
Washington (52-54) scored three runs in the second as Ramos, who had a career-high five RBIs, had an RBI single for a 1-0 Nationals' lead. Bryce Harper drove in two with a line single to make the score 3-0.
Ryan Zimmerman had three hits for Washington a day after his walk-off homer beat the Mets.
Torres gave up eight runs in three innings before Gonzalez German came on to pitch for the Mets (46-56) in the fourth. Torres entered the game with the best ERA in the majors with those who had thrown at least 25 innings.
New York scored in the fourth as an RBI single by former National Marlon Byrd made the score 8-1.
Craig Stammen took over for Jordan in the seventh and Ian Krol pitched a scoreless eighth. Ryan Mattheus loaded the bases in the ninth as a light rain began to fall, and Fernando Abad came out of the Washington bullpen to close out the Mets.
NOTES: Jordon, who was called up from Double-A Harrisburg last month, was born in Merritt Island, Fla., just eight miles from the spring training home of the Nationals in Viera, Fla. ... Washington RHP Dan Haren, who got his first win since May on Saturday, said the Nationals have to get hot soon. "We don't have time to hit rock bottom," he said. ... Mets' 3B David Wright was not in the starting lineup as he got a rare day off. ... Mets' LHP Josh Edgin allowed just two runs in his first 21 appearances (1.04 ERA) since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 10. He pitched a scoreless eighth on Sunday. "I was rushing my mechanics, maybe even rushing my thinking," he said of his struggles with the Mets in April. ... Washington pitching coach Steve McCatty was taken to a local hospital Sunday morning and was not with the team, according to MLB.com. The team said it would update the 59-year-old McCatty's status when it had sufficient information.
