Nationals unravel in eighth inning, miss chance to earn sweep against the Mets

NEW YORK — Fighting back means sustaining a few blows. Scratching and clawing wears down the nails. Climbing back from the brink takes energy. The Washington Nationals fought and scratched and climbed and clawed this week against the New York Mets. Eight innings into the series finale, they succumbed to their efforts and collapsed in an 11-5 loss. The Nationals were six outs away from a series sweep, but they had no fresh relievers to get them after battling through two close wins to begin the series. They turned to Ryan Madson for his third straight day of work — and his 11th appearance in 19 games — and he surrendered the lead and allowed the Mets to build one. “Before the game, I have conversations with these guys. Guys tell me they are available,” Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said. “We use them accordingly. That’s how it works. Today wasn’t [Madson’s] day, but I have all the confidence in the world in them.” [The Nationals are slyly paying tribute to Daniel Murphy with this on-field hand signal] Sammy Solis, working on his second straight day after warming up three times for multiple innings Monday, walked in a run. A.J. Cole,… Read full this story

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