Instant analysis: Nats 5, Mets 2

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Danny Espinosa is greeted by Michael Morse following his second-inning homer.

Game in a nutshell: A good number of the 33,764 who paid to attend this game actually stuck around through a 2 1/2-hour rain delay and then through the actual game, and were rewarded for their patience with another fine showing from the home club. The Nationals jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a Danny Espinosa homer, a Ryan Zimmerman RBI single and an RBI triple and solo homer by Bryce Harper. That was plenty of run support for Gio Gonzalez, who labored through 5 2/3 innings but still held the Mets to one run. Craig Stammen, Michael Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard then closed it out to give the Nats another series victory. Coupled with the Braves' loss to the Dodgers, the Nationals now lead the NL East by five games heading into this week's showdown with Atlanta.

Hitting highlight: Maybe the most encouraging development of the weekend: Harper seemed to get his power stroke back. After recording a couple of hits (including a homer) on Friday, the rookie tripled and

Game 121: Mets at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Gio Gonzalez seeks his 16th win in today's series finale at Nationals Park.

Davey Johnson was asked yesterday if he had any plans to sit Ian Desmond at all to keep his recovering oblique muscle from acting up again. "Tomorrow," the manager said. "But don't tell him I said that. I've already got one guy wanting to choke me to death [ie. Bryce Harper]. But just to be on the safe side, I'll probably go back to the pre-Desmond infield."

Fast-forward to this morning when the Nationals' lineup for their series finale against the Mets was posted, with Desmond listed as the starting shortstop. Jayson Werth also is in there after Johnson said he planned to rest the outfielder.

So, there you have it. I'd pass along Davey's explanation for the change-of-heart, but he doesn't hold a pregame session with reporters on Sundays, so we'll have to wait until after this game. That's assuming the game is played. There's a fairly sizable weather system approaching from the southwest, and it looks like rain is a certainty for much of the afternoon. Having said that, this is the Mets' final scheduled game in D.C. this season, which means they'll do everything they can to try to get the game in.

Stay tuned for updates...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, Ch. 50, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 183
Weather: Thunderstorms, 80 degrees, Wind 7 mph RF to LF

NATIONALS (74-46)
RF Jayson Werth
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

Jackson's brilliance wasted

Associated Press photo

Michael Morse and the Nats were shut out by Jon Niese and two Mets relievers.

They packed themselves into Nationals Park on a gorgeous Saturday night, the second-largest gathering in the stadium's history, and for 2 hours and 35 minutes they waited anxiously for an opportunity to explode.

Even as Jon Niese posted zero after zero on the scoreboard, the sellout throng of 42,662 sensed the Nationals would eventually do something at the plate. This team had come from behind too many times and scored too many runs lately to believe another rally wasn't forthcoming, a sentiment shared by those inside the dugout.

"Put us in that situation," Edwin Jackson said, "more times than not we come through."

Except this time they didn't. The big hit never came. And by night's end, the Nationals were left scratching their heads at a 2-0 loss to the Mets that had to rank among their most frustrating of the season.
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Instant analysis: Mets 2, Nats 0

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Edwin Jackson struck out 11 but was victimized by Ike Davis' two-run homer.

Game in a nutshell: Edwin Jackson was brilliant, striking out 11 and carrying a shutout into the seventh inning. But Jon Niese was equally as dominant, scattering five hits without issuing a walk over 7 1/3 innings. In the end, this game was decided by a two-batter stretch in the top of the seventh: David Wright drew a leadoff walk, then seconds later Ike Davis sent a two-run homer into the left-field bullpen. And that was it. The Nats never managed to push a run across against Niese or a New York bullpen that boasts the majors' highest ERA (5.05). It was a surprisingly disappointing performance from a lineup that had been inflicting serious damage on opposing pitchers over the last month. And it was particularly disheartening given Jackson's fine start. Thus, the Nationals missed a chance to improve to 30 games over .500 and secure another series victory.

Hitting lowlight: They really didn't have any legitimate scoring opportunities all night, never advancing a runner to third base. But if

Werth embraces leadoff role

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Jayson Werth has a .509 on-base percentage since returning from the DL.

As he was getting close to returning from a broken left wrist, Jayson Werth asked Davey Johnson where the Nationals manager planned to hit him in his starting lineup.

Johnson said he was thinking about leading him off, to which Werth replied: "That's great."

"He's a student, he studies the game," Johnson said. "And he knows the talents of everybody else."

Indeed, a quick scan of the Nationals' projected lineup (especially once Ian Desmond returned from his own oblique injury) showed no traditional candidate to hit leadoff. Werth made the most sense.

"His approach, the way he approaches every at-bat, is really more in line with a leadoff hitter," Johnson said. "He takes a lot of pitches and a lot of times will try to hit the pitcher's pitch. He's not your normal,
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