WASHINGTON (AP) — Joey Meneses drove in four runs as part of a four-hit day, CJ Abrams homered and the Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 10-3 on Monday to split a four-game series.
New York has lost nine of its last 13 and dropped 15 of 21 since its 14-7 start. The Mets are 0-5-2 in their last seven series and have not won consecutive games since taking three in a row from April 19-21. Big-spending New York fell to fourth in the NL East, 1 1/2 games ahead of last-place Washington.
Patrick Corbin (2-5) earned his first home victory since last Aug. 28, surrendering two runs and eight hits over six innings.
The rebuilding Nationals, who scored in each inning they batted except the second, improved to 17-17 since losing five of their first six games.
Meneses doubled in Lane Thomas with one out in the first to put New York in another early hole. The Mets have been outscored 37-9 in the first inning this season.
Meneses added another RBI double in the third off New York starter David Peterson (1-6). Keibert Ruiz followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
The Nationals scored two more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth against Peterson, who allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings. Peterson has yielded at least four runs in six consecutive starts, and his ERA ballooned to a season-high 8.08.
Abrams hit a solo shot off Tommy Hunter in the sixth. It was the second day in a row Abrams went deep, and three of his four homers this season have come against the Mets.
Meneses added a run-scoring infield single later in the inning and an RBI double in the eighth. He is hitting .452 (19 of 42) with 20 RBIs with runners in scoring position.
The Mets managed three hits in two different innings against Corbin, but pushed across just one run in both of them — Jeff McNeil’s RBI single in the second and Tommy Pham’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.
