Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon was decidedly disappointed in his players’ inability to draw a walk.

After all, in the course of 22 innings over two games against the Washington Nationals, including Florida’s 4-3 loss Sunday, the Marlins drew exactly zero free passes.

“You don’t get paid to take a walk. Walks help you win. There’s a lot of cases where that’s the key to winning ballgames. Bases on balls. We walk them, what happens? We get beat. Our guys are allergic to taking walks,” McKeon said.

“They play by the players’ association rules: Thou must swing at 3-1 and 2-0,” he added.

His Marlins won in 13 innings Saturday night despite failing to draw a walk, but they weren’t able to overcome the lack of men on base Sunday against Chien-Ming Wang, who made the longest start of his comeback from shoulder surgery. Wang left with two outs in the seventh inning after allowing three runs, six hits and zero walks, helping Washington edge Florida.

The only thing truly at stake for either club is avoiding a last-place finish in the NL East, but some individual players are keen to make an impression with next year in mind, and Wang (3-3) looked good for much of the afternoon in earning his first win in more than a month.

The right-hander allowed runs on Gaby Sanchez’s 19th homer, a solo shot in the fifth inning, and Brett Hayes’ two-run homer in the seventh — both liners to left that barely cleared the wall.

“He’s nasty — those 91 mph sinkers,” Hayes said.

After his homer pulled Florida to 4-3, Wang departed to a partial standing ovation. Tyler Clippard got the next four outs, and closer Drew Storen pitched the ninth for his 38th save in 43 chances.

For the Marlins, the loss ended an 11-game road trip, their first to take the team to four cities since 2005. They went 6-5.

“Feels like we’ve been on the road since July,” Hayes said. “It’s just that time of the year where you just got to grind through it.”

Florida rookie Brad Hand (1-8) lost his fifth consecutive start, allowing four runs — three earned — and five hits in four innings.

“I think my pitch count was up there, but I was feeling good. Felt strong. Would have liked to stay in the game,” Hand said. “Wang pitched good, so I knew I couldn’t give up many runs.”

It was Wang’s 10th appearance — one lasted 6 1-3 innings — since returning to the big leagues on July 29, exactly two years after an operation on his pitching shoulder. He hadn’t been on a mound in the majors since July 4, 2009, when he was with the New York Yankees.

Wang twice won 19 games in a season with the Yankees, and showed signs of that sort of stuff Sunday, getting groundball out after groundball out. Only four of the 20 outs he recorded were flyballs.

He hadn’t won a game since Aug. 16 against the Cincinnati Reds, going 0-1 in five starts since.

Some head’s-up baserunning by Jonny Gomes put Washington on the scoreboard in the second. Gomes led off with a double to straightaway center, then moved up a base on Espinosa’s groundout to third baseman Greg Dobbs, who left the bag to glove the ball in the hole.

Chris Marrero then sent a fly to shallow right, and Gomes slid in to score barely ahead of the tag from outfielder Mike Stanton’s one-bounce throw to the plate.

Washington scored three in the fourth, which Ryan Zimmerman led off with his second double of the game, a rope down the left-field line. After Michael Morse walked and Gomes struck out, Espinosa lined a single to center, and the ball hopped over the glove of hard-charging center fielder Bryan Petersen and kept bouncing and rolling for several feet.

By the time Petersen corralled it, two runs had scored and Espinosa was on third. Espinosa entered the game with 60 RBIs as a rookie, but none since Sept. 4.

Marrero followed with a ground-rule double that made it 4-0.

NOTES: Marlins RF Stanton made a sliding catch of a soft sinking bloop off Wang’s bat in the third. 2B Omar Infante also was tracking the ball and fell face-first in the grass after tripping over Stanton. … Entering Sunday, Florida had been 13-1 at Washington since the 2010 All-Star break. … On Monday, Florida opens a three-game series at home against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins are only 4-11 against the Braves this season. Florida will start RHP Ricky Nolasco in the series opener, while Atlanta sends LHP Mike Minor to the mound.

Read More: Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Jesus Flores (C – WAS), Michael Morse (LF – WAS), Roger Bernadina (RF – WAS), Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers

It looked like the Washington Nationals would be in firm control of their Sunday game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning, then got a run when Michael Morse singled home Roger Bernadina. But the Nationals couldn’t get any more runs on Chad Billingsley, and the whole game has changed since. A 1-0 lead is a 3-1 deficit in the middle of the sixth inning.

After Morse’s single, Billingsley struck out three straight Nationals hitters: Jayson Werth, Rick Ankiel and Jesus Flores. He hasn’t allowed a single hit since. Werth walked at one point, but otherwise, the Nationals haven’t even reached base.

As for the Dodgers, they scored twice in the bottom of the first inning when Aaron Miles grounded a ball up the middle to score Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. The Dodgers also took advantage of bad defense to score a third run in the third inning when Ian Desmond couldn’t turn a double play.

The Colorado Rockies have dominated the Washington Nationals over much of
the previous three seasons.

Continuing that trend, however, could prove difficult given their slew of
injuries and recent poor play.

Visiting Colorado tries to snap its longest losing streak of the season
while Washington looks to bounce back from a disappointing defeat as the teams
open a three-game set Friday night.

The Rockies (41-47) have lost 11 of 13, including five straight to drop a
season-worst six games under .500.

Colorado surrendered its highest run total since 2009 during Sunday’s 16-8
loss to Kansas City and suffered a four-game sweep at Atlanta, falling 6-3 on
Thursday.

Manager Jim Tracy’s club was outscored 24-8 by the Braves as Troy Tulowitzki(notes)
(right quadriceps tightness) and Carlos Gonzalez(notes) (right wrist contusion), who
have combined for 30 homers and 108 RBIs, each sat out the last three games of
the series. While Gonzalez is expected back following a four-day absence,
Tulowitzki is likely to miss his fourth straight contest.

“Basically what it gets down to is you win and you lose,” Ty Wigginton(notes) said.
“And (Thursday) we lost. And that’s not a good thing. The injury thing,
personally, I’ve always looked at that as an excuse.

“Every single team in baseball throughout the season is going to have an
injury. It’s our job to go out there and get the job done.”

The injury-riddled Rockies, who also lost rookie outfielder Charlie Blackmon(notes)
to a broken left foot Thursday, have taken three straight and 14 of 17 from
Washington, including eight of 10 in the Nation’s capital.

After winning three one-run games over the Chicago Cubs, the Nationals
(45-44) blew an eight-run lead – the largest during a loss in franchise history
- and dropped Thursday’s series finale 10-9.

“A loss is a loss – however you want to throw it up there,” outfielder
Jayson Werth(notes) said. “I don’t think this loss is that big a deal. We can get over
this – no problem.”

Washington has won 15 of 19 at home while averaging 5.0 runs and seems to
have a good shot at regrouping against the struggling Jason Hammel(notes) (4-8, 4.31
ERA).

Hammel yielded six runs – five earned – and seven hits in a season-low 3 2-3
innings Sunday at Kansas City, dropping to 1-7 with a 5.27 ERA over his last 11
starts.

“I missed location all day. It was pathetic,” said Hammel. “I’ll do my best
to forget about it and get back to work.”

Hammel, 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in four career starts against the Nationals,
will be opposed by fellow right-hander Jason Marquis(notes) (7-3, 4.11), who is also
coming off perhaps his worst effort of the season.

Marquis allowed seven runs – six earned – and recorded just four outs before
he was removed from Sunday’s 10-2 loss to Pittsburgh. He had gone 4-0 with a
2.13 ERA over six home games prior to his shortest outing of the year.

“It was one of those days,” Marquis told the Nationals’ official website.
“I’m obviously not happy about it. It’s one start in a long season. Turn the
page and be ready next time out.”

Marquis won 15 games with Colorado two years ago but hasn’t faced his former
team since signing with the Nationals in 2010. He is 5-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 11
career starts against the Rockies.

Marquis has had trouble with Wigginton, who is 9 for 21 (.429) lifetime
against him.

Read More: Washington Nationals

The NCAA Baseball Tournament Super Regional stage gets underway this weekend, with four games scheduled for Friday and four more for Saturday. Each matchup is a three-game mini-series, with the winner earning a trip to the College World Series in Omaha. Here is a schedule of the matchups:

No. 1 Virginia vs. UC-Irvine, Charlottesville

• Game 1: Saturday, June 11 at 1 p.m.
• Game 2: Sunday, June 12 at 1 p.m.
• Game 3 (if necessary): Monday, June 13

California vs. Dallas Baptist, Santa Clara

Read More: Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Chase Headley (3B – SDP), Doug Slaten (P – WAS), Ryan Ludwick (LF – SDP), Ian Desmond (SS – WAS), Yunesky Maya (P – WAS), San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals picked up two quick runs in the first-inning, but once again the offense has gone cold as the San Diego Padres offense warms up and the Nats have fallen behind 4-2 in a Sunday afternoon rubber match.

Nationals starter Yunesky Maya started the game out strong and only gave up an RBI single to Ryan Ludwick in the fourth-inning. However, in the top of the fifth the Cuban righty started to unravel. He loaded the bases which included back-to-back two-out walks (ouch) and once Ludwick inflicted damage on the Nationals by hitting a single scoring two runs. Chase Headley followed up with an RBI double in the same inning off reliever Doug Slaten to put the score where it is.

Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth and shortstop Ian Desmond lay claim to the only two runs Washington has scored Sunday afternoon. The crowd on a hot and steamy Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park hope they are not the last.

It is 4-2 Padres going into the bottom of the fifth-inning.

WASHINGTON (AP)—The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher
Yunesky Maya(notes) from Triple-A Syracuse to start Sunday’s game against San Diego.

Maya takes Tom Gorzellany’s place in the Nationals’ rotation. Gorzellany was
placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with an inflamed left elbow.

The Cuban-born Maya, who signed with the Nationals last summer, was 1-4 with
a 3.79 ERA in nine starts with Syracuse. He was 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA in five
starts with Washington in 2010.

WASHINGTON (AP)—The Washington Nationals placed left-hander Tom Gorzelanny(notes)
on the on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed left elbow after Friday
night’s 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. The move is retroactive to May
24.

Gorzelanny, who was scheduled to start Sunday, is 2-4 with a 4.25 ERA in
nine starts.

The Nationals have not announced who will start in Gorzelanny’s place.

PITTSBURGH — This spring, Michael Morse earned the Washington Nationals’ starting left field position, an elusive opportunity he had longed for his entire career, the chance he had spent a decade chasing as he hopped around three organizations.

Then the season began. Thirty at-bats into his first year as a major league regular, stuck on four hits, Morse had only made an argument for why it took so long.

Even then, Morse changed nothing. He had believed for years he deserved to be an everyday player, and two weeks wouldn’t change that. “That’s one thing that I won’t lose,” Morse said. “Confidence for myself.”

Since his rough start, Morse has replicated one of the hot streaks that catapulted him into the starting lineup in the first place, culminating with a performance Sunday that lifted the Nationals to a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates before 9,520 at PNC Park. Morse went 3 for 4 with his first home run of the season, a three-run blast in the third inning that helped give Jason Marquis his second win and sent the Nationals back to .500 on the season.

The Nationals provided at least a momentary break from their offensive stagnancy, piling up a season-high 15 hits and scoring more runs than they had in their three previous games combined. None of those hits came from Jayson Werth, who went 0 for 5 with a strikeout just as it seemed, following a deep home run Saturday, he might be breaking out. Werth did, however, assist on the game’s final out by throwing out Andrew McCutchen, whose questionable decision to tag up allowed Werth to show off his powerful right arm.

Still at least a week away from the return of Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals, if they want to keep holding down the fort, need many members of its slumping lineup to snap out of funks. Morse, it seems, might be in the middle of doing that. After Sunday’s three-hit performance, Morse is 10 for his last 24 and has raised his average to .259 on the season — which, believe it or not, would be second-highest among Nationals regulars.

“It would be huge,” Adam LaRoche said. “You look at the averages right now, and it’s not real good. We don’t have a ton of guys on base. I don’t think you’re ever going to have everybody clicking at once, but we could have the majority of guys get going.”

Before Sunday, really, Morse had shown none of the power that, in the spring, gave the Nationals no choice but to hand him the open left field position. Morse drilled nine homers in Florida. If they gave out a Grapefruit League MVP trophy, the 2011 model would be resting on Morse’s mantle.

In the third inning Sunday, in his 59th at-bat of the year, Morse walked to the plate without a homer in the regular season. The Nationals had loaded the bases with no outs before Werth grounded into a fielder’s choice that eliminated the lead runner at home. The previous inning, the Nationals had stranded runners on second and third, and now they were in danger of wasting another rally.

Pirates starter Kevin Correia threw Morse an Easter present, a 2-1 fastball down the pipe. Morse didn’t miss it — he rocketed his first home run deep into the left field bleachers, putting the Nationals ahead, 4-1.

Morse had neither made any significant adjustments nor allowed himself to worry about the slow start. “My name’s in the lineup, I just go out there and play,” he said. But lately, he said, he has been starting his swing a split-second earlier, giving his swing better timing.

Marquis was not at his best, but he had all the runs he needed. Pitching on six days’ rest because of recent rainouts, Marquis’s sinker dove less and he left more pitches up in the strike zone than he had all season. The Pirates ripped eight hits and drew two walks, the same number of free passes he had issued in his first three starts combined.

Still, Marquis lasted six innings and relied on the same formula that gave him a rotation-best 3.26 ERA entering the game: He threw strikes and kept the ball on the ground. He threw 63 of 100 pitches for strikes, and 15 of the 18 outs he recorded were either strikeouts (three) or groundouts (12).

“I felt like I was getting better as the game went on,” Marquis said. “I felt like my stuff was getting better. I felt like I was stronger.”

And so, when Riggleman visited him with two outs in the sixth inning and asked if he could pitch to one more batter, Marquis told him yes. “He wanted no part of coming out of that game,” Riggleman said. McCutchen grounded to short, ending the inning.

Marquis also laced two singles to center. They will take offense anyway they can get it, but the Nationals would prefer that their best hitters be the ones who reverse the trend. At least one of them, it seems, is finally on his way. Said Morse: “I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Follow , and Like SB Nation DC on Facebook.

Read More: Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Ivan Rodriguez (C – WAS), Alex Cora (2B – WAS), Adam LaRoche (1B – WAS), Tom Gorzelanny (P – WAS), Livan Hernandez (P – WAS), Jason Marquis (P – WAS), Rick Ankiel (CF – WAS), Ian Desmond (SS – WAS), Danny Espinosa (2B – WAS), Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers

NEW YORK (AP) — Ivan Rodriguez and the Washington Nationals took advantage of the Mets’ bullpen for a satisfying Sunday win.

After being held to one run and one hit in seven innings by Chris Young , the Nationals and their experienced bench broke out against the Mets’ shaky relievers for a 7-3 win in 11 innings.

Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning and Laynce Nix followed with a three-run homer off the Mets’ fifth reliever, Blaine Boyer (0-2), who was designated for assignment after the loss.

“If we can get into the sixth and seventh innings, we really feel good about our ballclub,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

The Nationals actually left this one to the eighth, when an outfield gaffe was crucial to the outcome for the second game in a row.

Right fielder Lucas Duda misjudged Rodriguez’s leadoff flyball. He sprinted toward center, but the ball sailed over his head. Rodriguez wound up with a leadoff double off D.J. Carrasco, who then walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs with one out and gave up an RBI single to Ian Desmond before Rick Ankiel ‘s grounder to second tied the game at 3.

“It’s horrible, man,” Carrasco said. “To just come in there and give the game away like that is very frustrating.”

Duda was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo afterward and the Mets tried to bolster a bullpen that issued 11 walks and 10 hits in 11 innings this series by purchasing the contracts of pitchers Ryota Igarashi and Jason Isringhausen .

In the 11th, Rodriguez’s hit got past second baseman Daniel Murphy , who pinch hit for Brad Emaus in the ninth after the Mets’ bullpen blew a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Duda scooped up the ball, but his throw to the plate was inaccurate and pinch-runner Wilson Ramos scored easily.

“The route that was taken, I thought he was going to get there,” Carrasco said. “I wasn’t really worried because we had a two-run lead at the time. I twas the fact I couldn’t control the cutter later on. That’s what got me stuck.”

Drew Storen (1-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for Washington, which salvaged a 3-3 road trip and took two of three from the Mets thanks to timely hitting from its bench players and five innings of scoreless relief.

The Nationals have won three out of four since dropping four of five to start the season.

“I think it’s significant that we’re playing good baseball more than anything,” Nationals starter Jason Marquis said. “We started things off a bit sluggish. “

He was referring to the Nationals’ season, but Young kept the Nats plenty quiet on Sunday, too.

“He got us to where we wanted to get to,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He got us to the eighth inning and we couldn’t hold it for him. It’s a shame, but he pitched great.”

Young looked right at home in Citi Field’s wide-open spaces, getting 15 of his 21 outs on flyballs. The only groundout he allowed was Rodriguez’s RBI to second base in the second inning.

Against Philadelphia last week, the big righty struck out seven and allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings in his Mets debut.

On Sunday, Adam LaRoche began the second inning with a walk and Michael Morse followed with a single to left, but Young retired 18 of the next 19 batters.

Davis got his 10th RBI, and Jose Reyes reached base in the first inning for the ninth straight game.

The Mets went up 2-0 in the first on RBI singles by David Wright and Angel Pagan . Davis added a broken-bat single in the fifth.

With the Mets’ bullpen it wasn’t enough.

“I guess you’ve got to convince them that they’ve got to get beat with somebody swinging the bat,” Collins said. “This is the big leagues and they’ve got to be able to land some pitches. I’m not saying you’re never going to walk somebody, but we’re walking at too high a rate right now.”

NOTES: The night before, Jerry Hairston Jr. muffed a fly to left-center in the sixth inning, opening the door to a go-ahead triple by Ike Davis . On Sunday, the Mets repaid the favor. No Nationals pitcher has gone fewer than five innings yet this season, in nine games. Marquis retired nine straight between Reyes’ single in the third and Willie Harris ‘ in the fifth. Stairs drew his fourth walk in six ABs with Washington as a pinch-hitter. The Mets struck out 17 times one day after they whiffed 10 times. … Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman sat out. He aggravated an abdominal injury in Saturday night’s game. Alex Cora played in his place. … Carlos Beltran , who homered twice for New York the night before, pinch-hit in the ninth. His groundout to second ended the ninth. LaRoche left hurt in the 11th after reaching second base. Ramos, the backup catcher, ran for him. LaRoche said his left groin was tight.

© 2011 STATS LLC

NEW YORK – Ivan Rodriguez and the Washington Nationals took advantage of the Mets’ bullpen for a satisfying Sunday win.

After being held to one run and one hit in seven innings by Chris Young, the Nationals and their experienced bench broke out against the Mets’ shaky relievers for a 7-3 win in 11 innings.

Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning and Laynce Nix followed with a three-run homer off the Mets’ fifth reliever, Blaine Boyer (0-2), who was designated for assignment after the loss.

“If we can get into the sixth and seventh innings, we really feel good about our ballclub,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

The Nationals actually left this one to the eighth, when an outfield gaffe was crucial to the outcome for the second game in a row.

Right fielder Lucas Duda misjudged Rodriguez’s leadoff flyball. He sprinted toward center, but the ball sailed over his head. Rodriguez wound up with a leadoff double off D.J. Carrasco, who then walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs with one out and gave up an RBI single to Ian Desmond before Rick Ankiel’s grounder to second tied the game at 3.

“It’s horrible, man,” Carrasco said. “To just come in there and give the game away like that is very frustrating.”

Duda was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo afterward and the Mets tried to bolster a bullpen that issued 11 walks and 10 hits in 11 innings this series by purchasing the contracts of pitchers Ryota Igarashi and Jason Isringhausen.

In the 11th, Rodriguez’s hit got past second baseman Daniel Murphy, who pinch hit for Brad Emaus in the ninth after the Mets’ bullpen blew a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Duda scooped up the ball, but his throw to the plate was inaccurate and pinch-runner Wilson Ramos scored easily.

“The route that was taken, I thought he was going to get there,” Carrasco said. “I wasn’t really worried because we had a two-run lead at the time. I twas the fact I couldn’t control the cutter later on. That’s what got me stuck.”

Drew Storen (1-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for Washington, which salvaged a 3-3 road trip and took two of three from the Mets thanks to timely hitting from its bench players and five innings of scoreless relief.

The Nationals have won three out of four since dropping four of five to start the season.

“I think it’s significant that we’re playing good baseball more than anything,” Nationals starter Jason Marquis said. “We started things off a bit sluggish. “

He was referring to the Nationals’ season, but Young kept the Nats plenty quiet on Sunday, too.

“He got us to where we wanted to get to,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He got us to the eighth inning and we couldn’t hold it for him. It’s a shame, but he pitched great.”

Young looked right at home in Citi Field’s wide-open spaces, getting 15 of his 21 outs on flyballs. The only groundout he allowed was Rodriguez’s RBI to second base in the second inning.

Against Philadelphia last week, the big righty struck out seven and allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings in his Mets debut.

On Sunday, Adam LaRoche began the second inning with a walk and Michael Morse followed with a single to left, but Young retired 18 of the next 19 batters.

Davis got his 10th RBI, and Jose Reyes reached base in the first inning for the ninth straight game.

The Mets went up 2-0 in the first on RBI singles by David Wright and Angel Pagan. Davis added a broken-bat single in the fifth.

With the Mets’ bullpen it wasn’t enough.

“I guess you’ve got to convince them that they’ve got to get beat with somebody swinging the bat,” Collins said. “This is the big leagues and they’ve got to be able to land some pitches. I’m not saying you’re never going to walk somebody, but we’re walking at too high a rate right now.”

NOTES: The night before, Jerry Hairston Jr. muffed a fly to left-center in the sixth inning, opening the door to a go-ahead triple by Ike Davis. On Sunday, the Mets repaid the favor. No Nationals pitcher has gone fewer than five innings yet this season, in nine games. Marquis retired nine straight between Reyes’ single in the third and Willie Harris’ in the fifth. Stairs drew his fourth walk in six ABs with Washington as a pinch-hitter. The Mets struck out 17 times one day after they whiffed 10 times. … Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman sat out. He aggravated an abdominal injury in Saturday night’s game. Alex Cora played in his place. … Carlos Beltran, who homered twice for New York the night before, pinch-hit in the ninth. His groundout to second ended the ninth. LaRoche left hurt in the 11th after reaching second base. Ramos, the backup catcher, ran for him. LaRoche said his left groin was tight.

CBSSports.com wire reports
April 10, 2011

NEW YORK — Ivan Rodriguez and the Washington Nationals took advantage of the Mets’ bullpen for a satisfying Sunday victory.

After being held to one run and one hit in seven innings by Chris Young, the Nationals and their experienced bench broke out against the Mets’ shaky relievers for a 7-3 victory in 11 innings.

Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning and Laynce Nix followed with a three-run homer off the Mets’ fifth reliever, Blaine Boyer (0-2), who was designated for assignment after the loss.

“If we can get into the sixth and seventh innings, we really feel good about our ballclub,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.

The Nationals actually left this one to the eighth, when an outfield gaffe was crucial to the outcome for the second successive game.

Right fielder Lucas Duda misjudged Rodriguez’s leadoff fly ball. He sprinted toward center, but the ball sailed over his head. Rodriguez wound up with a leadoff double off D.J. Carrasco, who then walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs with one out and gave up an RBI single to Ian Desmond before Rick Ankiel’s grounder to second tied the game at 3.

“It’s horrible, man,” Carrasco said. “To just come in there and give the game away like that is very frustrating.”

Duda was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo afterward and the Mets tried to bolster a bullpen that issued 11 walks and 10 hits in 11 innings this series by purchasing the contracts of pitchers Ryota Igarashi and Jason Isringhausen.

In the 11th, Rodriguez’s hit got past second baseman Daniel Murphy, who pinch hit for Brad Emaus in the ninth after the Mets’ bullpen blew a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Duda scooped up the ball, but his throw to the plate was inaccurate and pinch-runner Wilson Ramos scored easily.

“The route that was taken, I thought he was going to get there,” Carrasco said. “I wasn’t really worried because we had a two-run lead at the time. I twas the fact I couldn’t control the cutter later on. That’s what got me stuck.”

Drew Storen (1-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for Washington, which salvaged a 3-3 road trip and took two of three from the Mets thanks to timely hitting from its bench players and five innings of scoreless relief.

The Nationals have won three out of four since dropping four of five to start the season.

“I think it’s significant that we’re playing good baseball more than anything,” Nationals starter Jason Marquis said. “We started things off a bit sluggish. “

He was referring to the Nationals’ season, but Young kept the Nats plenty quiet on Sunday, too.

“He got us to where we wanted to get to,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He got us to the eighth inning and we couldn’t hold it for him. It’s a shame, but he pitched great.”

Young looked right at home in Citi Field’s wide-open spaces, getting 15 of his 21 outs on flyballs. The only groundout he allowed was Rodriguez’s RBI to second base in the second inning.

Against Philadelphia last week, the big righty struck out seven and allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings in his Mets debut.

On Sunday, Adam LaRoche began the second inning with a walk and Michael Morse followed with a single to left, but Young retired 18 of the next 19 batters.

Davis got his 10th RBI, and Jose Reyes reached base in the first inning for the ninth consecutive game.

The Mets went up 2-0 in the first on RBI singles by David Wright and Angel Pagan. Davis added a broken-bat single in the fifth.

With the Mets’ bullpen, it wasn’t enough.

“I guess you’ve got to convince them that they’ve got to get beat with somebody swinging the bat,” Collins said. “This is the big leagues and they’ve got to be able to land some pitches. I’m not saying you’re never going to walk somebody, but we’re walking at too high a rate right now.”

Notes:

• The night before, Jerry Hairston Jr. muffed a fly to left-center in the sixth inning, opening the door to a go-ahead triple by Ike Davis. On Sunday, the Mets repaid the favor.
• No Nationals pitcher has gone fewer than five innings yet this season, in nine games.
• Marquis retired nine straight between Reyes’ single in the third and Willie Harris‘ in the fifth.
• Stairs drew his fourth walk in six ABs with Washington as a pinch-hitter.
• The Mets struck out 17 times one day after they whiffed 10 times.
• Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman sat out. He aggravated an abdominal injury in Saturday night’s game. Alex Cora played in his place.
• Carlos Beltran, who homered twice for New York the night before, pinch-hit in the ninth. His groundout to second ended the ninth.
• LaRoche left hurt in the 11th after reaching second base. Ramos, the backup catcher, ran for him. LaRoche said his left groin was tight.