Editor’s note: Drew Costello originally wrote this on Mets Fans Forever
The Mets defeated the Washington Nationals by a score of 6-2 Monday night. Livan Hernandez got the win going seven strong innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. After a few shaky outings in a row, Hernandez was seemingly in control for the entire night. The only damage that was done came in the bottom of the fourth when Josh Bard doubled down the right field line scoring two.
Livan was pitching for his spot in the rotation tonight. He earned himself at least one more start, but I hate to judge it on a start against the Nationals. He has dominated the Nationals since leaving the team and has not been great against other teams.
Great base running in the early innings and a strong night from Jeff Francoeur powered the Mets offense. Francoeur had 3 hits including a double and his first home run as a Met. Francoeur in a post game interview said that David Wright has been helping him with his batting stance.
It has been a small sample size, but Francoeur has been a pleasant addition to the ball club. A fresh start may be just what he needed to get back to his 05-06 form.
The Mets were able to use heads up base running to score all night. The Nationals kept making the mistake of throwing the ball home instead of hitting the cut off man to prevent runners from getting into scoring position.
It was nice to see the Mets play smart for once. They made all the plays in the field and took advantage of mental errors by the Nats. These are the things the Mets have to do to win ball games with the AAA lineup they field every day.
The Mets will be back in action on Tuesday night as they continue the three game series with the Nationals. Oliver Perez (2-2 7.99) will take on John Lannan (6-7 3.64)
