Mets get to Nationals' pen again for 6-1 win

Juan Lagares laced a bases-clearing double with two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday night for the host New York Mets, who surged back to beat the Washington Nationals, 6-1.

Rajai Davis, who was called up from Triple-A Syracuse earlier Wednesday, added a three-run homer in his first plate appearance later in the eighth for the Mets, who have won the first three games of the four-game series. New York has not swept the Nationals/Montreal Expos in a four-game series since July 1-4, 1991.

A solo homer in the first by the Nationals' Adam Eaton was the only run through the first seven innings as the pitching duel between the National League's last two Cy Young Award winners, the Mets' Jacob deGrom and Washington's Max Scherzer, lived up to expectations. They both went six innings, with DeGrom allowing one run on two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts, while Scherzer surrendered four hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.

Both teams' beleaguered bullpens traded 1-2-3 innings in the seventh before the Mets unloaded against a pair of relievers in the eighth. With one out, Adeiny Hechavarria, who entered when Robinson Cano left with a tight left quad after the third inning, doubled against Kyle Barraclough (0-1).

After Pete Alonso grounded out, Barraclough walked Todd Frazier on four pitches. Nationals closer Sean Doolittle, who has two four-out saves this season, entered and loaded the bases by plunking Carlos Gomez with his first pitch. Lagares followed two pitches later with a double that split the gap in left-center field.

Wilson Ramos was intentionally walked, and then Davis became the 11th Mets player and the second this season to homer in his first at-bat with the team. Cano also did so against the Nationals on Opening Day.

The six runs allowed raised the Nationals' league-worst bullpen ERA to 6.89.

Drew Gagnon (3-0) earned the win with a perfect eighth inning for the Mets, whose bullpen lowered its ERA to 4.33.

--Field Level Media