Mets overcome 6-1 deficit to beat Nationals

The moment Adam Dunn's three-run homer cleared the rightfield fence at Citi Field last night, the Mets faced a deficit that seemed like too much to overcome.

It was the first inning.

Such was the state of the Mets' offense - especially with runners in scoring position - that a molehill felt like an ash-spewing volcano. A night after going 1-for-12 with RISP, the Mets started out 2-for-14 in those situations vs. Washington.

But things changed in the eighth inning. The Mets got clutch hits from Rod Barajas, Angel Pagan and newcomer Chris Carter to score six times, overcome a four-run deficit in the inning and take an 8-6 win over the Nationals.

Carter, who was called up on Monday night after the Mets cut Frank Catalanotto, ripped a go-ahead, pinch-hit double off Tyler Clippard in his first at-bat as a Met.

The Mets, who trailed 6-1 after 41/2 innings, entered the eighth still down 6-2. An error by Washington shortstop Ian Desmond scored Jason Bay to make it a three-run game and left the Mets with runners on first and third and none out.

Clippard (6-1) struck out Jeff Francoeur. But Barajas ripped a double off the leftfield wall - just missing a tying home run by a few feet - to make it 6-5.

Alex Cora followed with a bunt single to move Barajas to third. Pagan lined a game-tying single to right as what was left of the announced crowd of 31,606 roared in approval.

Carter then laced a go-ahead double into the rightfield corner. The 27-year-old first baseman/outfielder, who had 23 at-bats with the Red Sox in 2008-09, brought an 11-game hitting streak with him from Triple-A Buffalo,

The Mets scored another run when Bay (3-for-4) walked with the bases loaded.

Jonathon Niese allowed six runs, six hits and five walks in 41/3 innings. The Nationals chased him in a three-run fifth inning with Ivan Rodriguez contributing a two-run single and then scoring on Desmond's RBI hit off Manny Acosta.

Trailing 6-1, the Mets loaded the bases in the fifth with one out. But Jose Reyes hit a short fly ball to right and Bay hit a long fly ball to left-center. Both were caught - Bay's on the warning track - as the score remained the same.

Reyes and Bay as the 3-4 hitters is something Mets manager Jerry Manuel is committed to. Reyes, who has shown little knack for driving in runs, is batting .231 with five RBIs in 65 at-bats in the three-hole.

Manuel said before the game that he has been kicking around different lineup possibilities but isn't ready to make another major change just yet.

"I believe that I'm going to have to be a little patient," he said. "I'm going to try to do that the best I can because I think this lineup kind of fits us well . . . There'll probably come a time when we might have to do something. I don't think that time is here yet."

Trailing 3-0, the Mets scored a run in the second on Francoeur's two-out RBI single. Francoeur drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth off reliever Tyler Walker.

Francoeur had been 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts on the homestand.