Benson Can’t Escape First Inning as Nationals Avoid Sweep
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The Washington Nationals sent Kris Benson to the showers so fast, he hardly had time to work up a sweat. Ryan Church doubled and singled in a six run first inning, and Washington battered Benson in a 7-4 victory yesterday over the Mets.
Light-hitting Cristian Guzman doubled twice and drove in two runs for the Nationals, who avoided a three game sweep and kept pace in the tight NL wild-card race.
Working on three days’ rest for the first time this year, Esteban Loaiza (8-9) was handed a 6-0 lead before he threw a pitch.
Washington got seven straight hits with two outs in the first inning, chasing Benson (9-5) from the shortest outing of his seven-year career.
“He just couldn’t stop the avalanche,” manager Willie Randolph said.
Mike Jacobs homered in his first major league at-bat, becoming the fourth Mets player to accomplish the feat. But his three-run shot as a pinch-hitter in the fifth wasn’t nearly enough to pull New York out of a huge hole, and the Mets lost for only the fifth time in 19 home games.
Church led off the game with a double, moved up on a groundout and scored on Nick Johnson’s sacrifice fly. Then Benson really got in trouble – and he never escaped. Jose Guillen doubled and scored on Preston Wilson’s double. Vinny Castilla had an RBI single, Gary Bennett singled and both scored on Guzman’s double to right-center.
Loaiza chopped an RBI single through the middle, making it 6-0. Church followed with a single to knock out Benson, who was booed as he walked off the mound after only 37 pitches.
“You just hope that they would hit the ball somewhere at somebody, and unfortunately they didn’t. They found a hole every single time they put the bats on the ball,” Benson said. “When I look back on it, it’s definitely disappointing. I’ve made worse pitches and I’ve felt worse in games. There’s nothing I can do now.”
It was the shortest start by a Mets pitcher since Bruce Chen got only one out on September 8, 2001, at Florida. Benson won his previous two starts, allowing only three runs in 15 1/3 innings.
Jacobs drove an 0-1 pitch from Loaiza into the right-field bullpen in the bottom half, cutting New York’s deficit to 7-3 and earning the rookie a curtain call from the crowd of 42,412.
“It’s definitely an exciting day for me,” Jacobs said. “It’s a great feeling. I can’t put it into words.”
The left-handed hitting Jacobs was recalled last Wednesday from Double-A Binghamton, where he was hitting .321 with 25 home runs and 92 RBIs. He was called up to provide insurance behind the plate because Mike Piazza is injured.