Marcus Stroman pitched 5 1/3 effective innings and Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run homer as the New York Mets beat the visiting Washington Nationals 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday afternoon.
The Mets won consecutive games for the first time since July 21-23 and assured they will head into a stretch of 13 straight games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants over .500.
Stroman (8-11) allowed one run and three hits while taking a shutout into the sixth. He struck out eight, walked two and threw 85 pitches.
It was Stroman’s first win in four starts since his one-hitter in Cincinnati on July 21.
Stroman took a one-hitter into the sixth before allowing the first three hitters to reach. After Victor Robles ended the shutout bid with an RBI double, Stroman struck out Alcides Escobar before exiting.
Aaron Loup loaded the bases by walking Juan Soto but ended the sixth by getting Josh Bell on a double play. Edwin Diaz worked a scoreless seventh for his 25th save in 29 chances.
Stroman also appeared to battle some dehydration from pitching in humid 89-degree conditions.
In the fourth, he grimaced after fielding a grounder by Soto. Stroman was briefly hunched over but resumed his outing after getting checked by a trainer and finishing a bottle of water.
Nimmo homered in the second off Seth Nolin (0-1) to drive in Jonathan Villar and Stroman, who reached on a bunt base hit. It was his third homer of the season and first since July 17 at Pittsburgh.
Nimmo added an RBI single in the fourth and tied a career high with four RBIs. Michael Conforto led off the inning with a single, moved to third on Tomas Nido’s single and scored on Nimmo’s base hit to left field off.
Nolin was called up from Triple-A Rochester and allowed four runs on eight hits in three-plus innings. It was his first start since Oct. 3, 2015.
–Field Level Media