New York -- John Maine pitched five shutout innings to earn his first win since May and the New York Mets beat the Washington
Nationals 6-2 on Sunday.
Maine, Elmer Dessens, Sean Green and Brian Stokes combined to retire 12 straight batters before Washington rallied in the ninth.
Ryan Zimmerman had an RBI double and scored on Adam Dunn's single.
Stokes struck out Josh Willingham for the second out but walked Elijah Dukes to put runners on first and second. Manager Jerry
Manuel then brought in Francisco Rodriguez, who threw a called third strike past pinch-hitter Cristian Guzman for his 33rd save.
Washington's best opportunity against Maine came in the fifth, when Willingham led off with a single and advanced to third on
Alberto Gonzalez's one-out liner to center. Maine then struck out Jamie Burke and retired pitcher Garrett Mock on a bouncer to second to end the inning.
Maine earned his first win since he threw six shutout innings in a 3-2 victory over Florida on May 31. He also improved to 8-3 with
a 4.20 ERA in 13 career starts against the Nationals, his most wins against any opponent.
Mock (3-9) allowed four runs and nine hits in seven innings, dropping to 0-4 with a 7.00 ERA in five starts since his last win on Aug. 25 at Wrigley Field.
Murphy keyed the Mets' offense for the second consecutive day. He started the second with a triple and scored when Josh Thole's
one-out grounder glanced off Mock for an infield hit. Murphy added a two-run double in New York's three-run third.
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Murphy is batting .347 (17 for 49) with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last 13 games. He drove in two runs in New York's 3-2
victory Saturday.
Angel Pagan finished with three hits and Luis Castillo had two for the Mets, who scored their most runs since a 10-9 victory at
Philadelphia on Sept. 12.
Notes: Manuel said Beltran probably won't play in a day game after a night game for the rest of the season. “How many in a row
he plays, that's still questionable, too,'' Manuel said. Beltran was activated from the disabled list Sept. 8 after being sidelined
for 2{ months with a bone bruise on his right knee. ... Burke made his first start at catcher since he was acquired from Seattle on
Thursday. He went 0 for 1 with a walk before Pete Orr hit for him in the eighth. ... Castillo was shaken up but stayed in after he
was hit on his left shoulder by Burke's throw when he stole second in the fifth.
