The margins were about as close as they could have been. Washington Nationals center fielder Michael A. Taylor stood at the plate with two outs in the eighth inning, waiting for his pitch. New York Mets relief pitcher Bobby Parnell had just pushed the count full with a misplaced curveball, his first offspeed pitch of the at-bat. Parnell went back to his fastball to try to ring Taylor up, but the 24-year-old sent his 96 mph offering through the left side gap for a single that drove in Ian Desmond and Matt den Dekker and tied the score at three.
Victory over Mets helps Nationals survive tough stretch -- with more to come
