Mets Defenseless in D.C.
The New York Mets must be doing their best Michael Jackson (pictured) impression, because the Blue and Green have looked awfully ugly the past four days. One day after [getting swept ]and making six defensive errors, the Mets dropped their fourth straight game and made four more miscues in a 12-4 blowout loss against the lowly Washington Nationals.
[ New Yorks NL East lead dwindled] to just two and a half games following the embarrassing defeat, because second-place [Philadelphia won again](http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/standings). The Mets actually held a four-run lead in this contest following Carlos Beltran and Shawn Green home runs in the first and fourth inning, but then their pitching and defense imploded. Starter Brian Lawrence allowed four runs in the fourth inning to tie the game, and in the sixth, both physical and mental blunders let the game get out of hand.
In that inning, Washington scored four runs on just one hit when the defense committed errors on consecutive plays and pitcher Jorge Sosa made a mental gaffe. Quickly, the score turned from a 5-4 Washington advantage into a 9-4 blowout. In the seventh, the Nationals added their final three runs. It's been about as bad as it can get the last four days, Green said following the loss. Thanks for stating the obvious, Shawn.