“It was nice to be back,” Desmond said. “(I was) watching the games the last two days and it seemed like the team needed a little spark. I came in here today hoping I could do that. I did. It felt really good.”
Livan Hernandez kept the Mets at arm’s length with his longest outing of the season. Hernandez went eight innings, scattering seven hits, allowing just two earned runs with one walk and five strikeouts.
Jayson Werth added an RBI ground rule double and Jerry Hairston and Hernandez added RBIs in a two-run fourth inning off of Chris Capuano. Danny Espinosa also had a pair of hits.
Ike Davis extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double and a single. It was the first loss in seven games for the Mets.
The Nationals ended a three game skid with their second win in their last eight games.
The Nationals welcome the defending champion San Francisco Giants to Nats Park for a four game series beginning Friday at 630 p.m. on Sports Radio 106.7 The Fan.
