A Sweep Leaves the Mets atop the N.L. East

The most tantalizing thing about the 2008 New York Mets—particularly since the removal of Willie Randolph—has been their remarkable propensity to play up or down to the level of their given opponent. Coming into this week’s series here in Washington, the Mets had a losing record against teams with losing records.

They took care of business in the nation’s capital, however, completing a three-game sweep of the woeful Nationals—owners of baseball’s worst record, 44-78—at Nationals Park tonight before 31,058 fans, many of whom came dressed in blue and orange (and, regrettably, black) to root on the road team. The Mets outscored the Nats, 25-6, over the course of the series.

Thanks to a four-game sweep by the Dodgers over Philadelphia out on the West Coast, the Mets now hold a one-game lead in the National League East.

Oliver Pérez took the mound for the Mets tonight, and, for six innings, he was unhittable. The Nats tagged him for three runs in the seventh—pinch-hitter Pete Orr drilled a two-run triple, then scored on a bunt single by Emilio Bonifacio—to creep back to 5-3, but the Mets tacked on four insurance runs in the ninth to pace a 9-3 victory. It was the Nats’ seventh consecutive defeat, and, on nights like these, their chances of victory seem worse than Teddy Roosevelt’s likeness in the presidents race conducted between innings.

Since last season’s collapse, when Washington and Florida decimated the Mets’ playoff hopes during the season’s final week, the Amazins have struggled against mediocre teams. The Mets are 16-9 against Philadelphia and Florida this season—second- and third-place, respectively—but only 10-11 against Atlanta and the last-place Nats. Pérez is a case in point: the Mexican southpaw is 4-0 with a 1.23 earned-run-average against Philadelphia and Florida this season.

“At this time of the year, every win is huge—no matter who [sic] you play,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said after the game tonight. “Washington is looking to knock you off. They’re looking to make a mark for themselves.”

The Mets will need to duplicate that approach this weekend; they head to Pittsburgh now for a four-game set before hosting Atlanta next week at Shea.

“That’s been our weakness this year,” Mets center-fielder Carlos Beltrán said. “We’ve not been able to take advantage of teams under .500. Coming in here, we know that every time we come here, the Washington Nationals always find a way to play good baseball against us. This time, we really approached them the same way we approached the Phillies and the teams in contention.”

The Mets are still a flawed team, though the return of Billy Wagner next week will shore up their biggest weakness: the bullpen. If Ryan Church can come back from post-concussion syndrome, it will add a power bat in right field, despite the contributions of Daniel Murphy, who has been a revelation over the past two weeks.

If they can play as they did in this series, and as they have against the better teams, the Mets can emerge as the frontrunners in the National League East and avenge last year’s disastrous finish.