Brandon Knight earned his first win by giving up two runs in five innings and Luis Ayala recorded his eighth save, but in between the bullpen allowed five runs and almost blew another late inning lead.
Aside from the Nats giving the Mets so much trouble this week, there are three reasons why the Mets will not tank this September as they did last year.
1. Jose Reyes. Reyes made a statement tonight by leading off the game with a homer. He was well into fade mode at this point last year. This September, Jose looks nothing like the player that ran out of wind last September and if he sets the table, Wright, Delgado and Beltran will clean it up.
2. Carlos Delgado. The rejuvenated MVP candidate Carlos Delgado has carried this team for the last half of the year, and in a must-win game tonight he smacked another dong and threw in a base hit for good measure. With 106 RBI on the books so far this year, Carlos has found himself in the middle of every comeback on his way to MVP consideration.
3. Johan Santana. The true ace of the staff can set the tone for an entire series. The Mets lacked a true ace last year, and when they need a must-win W, as they will tomorrow night, Santana comes up big. He'll have the Mets leaving DC on a positive note.
Let's not forget Beltran (2 dingers tonight) and David Wright (always in the MVP talk). The bullpen will make it interesting, but I still pick the Mets to win the East.
The Phillies will get in by way of the wild card and Ryan Howard's bat, but the Mets take the East.
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