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Free-falling Mets lose 9-6 to Nationals

By MIKE FITZPATRICK -- AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) With their pitching staff in tatters, the free-falling New York Mets blew a five-run lead Wednesday night and lost again to Washington.

Now they're in danger of blowing the whole NL East race, too.

New York wasted two homers by Carlos Beltran and another from Moises Alou in a 9-6 loss to the Nationals that sliced its lead to one game over second-place Philadelphia.

The Phillies, who beat Atlanta 5-2, haven't been this close to first place since they lost on opening day. It's the Mets' slimmest margin since they were a half-game in front before play on May 17.

Betrayed by a brutal bullpen and ineffective starting pitching, New York has dropped six straight home games and nine of 13 overall.

Ryan Church homered and drove in four runs for the feisty Nationals, who completed a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium and improved to 5-1 against the Mets over a 10-day span.

Fans have started to turn on the Mets, too. Many in the crowd of 51,940 booed throughout the late innings as New York flopped once more against a fourth-place team.