Reeling Mets hoping to end struggles in Washington

Baseball Betting Lines

05/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Early wildness led to a forgettable outing last time out for the New York Mets' John Maine. He'll have to get himself under control this evening if his teas hopes to snap its lengthy skid at Nationals Park.

Despite getting an inside-the-park home run from Angel Pagan, who also initiated a triple play in Wednesday's opener, the Mets will still be trying to snap a six-game road skid at Nationals Park this evening in the finale of a two-game set against Washington.

Maine is coming off his second losing start in a row Saturday versus the Florida Marlins, a game where he walked the first three batters he faced on 12 pitches. That led to a three-run inning for Florida and Maine ended up yielding six runs on seven hits and five walks over five innings in a 7-5 setback.

"That was really shocking and surprising that he couldn't find it at that point," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel about Maine's early struggles. "I felt he threw the first couple pitches close and then all of a sudden, he was nowhere near the strike zone."

The right-hander, who is 1-3 with a 6.13 earned run average this year, would probably prefer an outing like the one he turned in against Washington on May 10. Even though it resulted in defeat, the 29-year-old Maine gave up just two solo homers and seven hits over six innings in a 3-2 contest.

Maine is 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 14 lifetime starts versus the Nationals.

While the beginning of Maine's last start is something the Mets don't want to see again, they would like to see Pagan continue his heroics. The speedy center fielder became the first player since Philadelphia's Ted Kazanski in 1955 to have an inside-the-park homer and become part of a triple play in the same game, but New York couldn't overcome an offense that had just five hits in a 5-3 setback.

"I was just trying to play the game hard," said Pagan. "It didn't matter because we lost. So like I said, I was just trying to do my job and play hard for the team. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win. [Thursday] is another day."

New York fell to 1-6 on an eight-game road trip and is just 5-14 as the guest this season. The Mets have also lost nine of their last 11 overall and five of seven versus the Nationals in 2010. Their skid at Nationals Park dates back to last season, when they lost six of nine overall as the guest in the series.

Fernando Tatis homered on Wednesday for New York and was starting in place of third baseman David Wright, who was given the night off to rest. Wright is hitting just .120 (3-for-25) with 12 strikeouts in his last seven games and leads the majors with 55 punchouts. Wright, who has struck out in 27 of his last 57 at-bats, should return to action tonight.

Washington plated three runs in the seventh inning to go ahead on Wednesday, including a triple by Cristian Guzman that scored Nyjer Morgan. Guzman lined out to center in the fifth inning to start Pagan's triple play, while Morgan -- who was also part of the three-out play -- was unable to track down Pagan's hit to center in the fourth inning that led to the inside-the-park homer.

Slugger Adam Dunn was in Washington's starting lineup for the first time in four games due to flu-like symptoms and went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks to help the Nats snap a season-high five-game losing streak.

Luis Atilano was Maine's opponent back on May 10 and will be again for Washington tonight. The 25-year-old got a victory after throwing 5 1/3 shutout innings, working around five hits and two walks in his first appearance versus the Mets.

Atilano's fifth career start didn't go as well. He allowed three runs on four hits, two of those homers, with four walks over five innings against Colorado last Saturday. It was the 25-year-old's shortest outing of the season and left him hoping to get better.

"I was feeling better about my mechanics and my command on some pitches, but I fell behind too many batters," Atilano told Washington's website. "That's just not me. I'm going to work to get on track. I have to try not to think too much. I'm trying to be the best that I could be, so I could be successful."

Still, Atilano is 3-0 with a 3.90 ERA on the season and continues to be a surprise for the Nationals' rotation.