Nationals Pound Zambrano To End Mets’ Win Streak

Brad Wilkerson and Vinny Castilla each had four of the Washington Nationals’ season-high 17 hits in an 11-4 victory over the Mets yesterday.The win halted a three-game Washington losing streak and ended a three game winning streak for the Mets.Wilkerson had a two-run homer, two singles, and a double, while Castilla had three singles and an RBI double.Livan Hernandez (2-2) survived a shaky first inning for the win. He allowed hits to the first four New York batters, including a bases-loaded double by cleanup hitter Mike Piazza that scored three runs and tied the score at 3-all.Two walks loaded the bases again, but Hernandez escaped further damage and then shut out the Mets through the seventh inning, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced, before turning the game over to the Nationals bullpen. He struck out three and walked two.Washington bunched five hits for three runs in the first inning against Mets starter Victor Zambrano (1-2).Wilkerson opened with a double and after Nick Johnson walked, Jose Vidro singled. Wilkerson was thrown out trying to score by right fielder Victor Diaz. Jose Guillen’s sacrifice fly scored Johnson before singles by Terrmel Sledge and Castilla loaded the bases. Gary Bennett followed with a two-run single.The Mets came right back in the bottom of the first against Hernandez.Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran beat out bunts for hits sandwiched around a single by Kaz Matsui, loading the bases. Piazza, who left nine runners stranded on Saturday, delivered this time with a double that cleared the bases and tied the score. Two more walks loaded the bases again, but Diaz, who had four hits Saturday, hit into an inning-ending double play.In the third, Vidro walked and reached third on an error by David Wright. Sledge then hit into a double play as Vidro scored the go-ahead run. An inning later, Zambrano hit Hernandez and Wilkerson followed with a two run homer for a 6-3 Nationals lead.Washington knocked Zambrano out of the game in the sixth. He walked Wilkerson and hit Johnson with a pitch. Manny Aybar relieved and Vidro doubled, scoring Wilkerson. Then Johnson came home on Guillen’s second sacrifice fly. Guillen and Castilla both doubled in runs in the eighth.***REPORT: SUIT SAYS DYKSTRA USED STEROIDSLenny Dykstra’s longtime friend and business partner has accused the former Mets and Phillies center fielder of using steroids and gambling illegally during his baseball career in a civil lawsuit, according to a newspaper report.Lindsay Jones, Dykstra’s former partner in a lucrative car-wash business, alleges the ballplayer advised him to bet thousands of dollars with a bookmaker on selected Phillies games in 1993,Dykstra’s best year in the majors, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.Jones, who is seeking to regain interest in the car wash business, said in a sworn statement that the baseball wagers were a form of payment to him, made “on the basis that Lenny would cover all losses, and I would use the winnings to live on.”The lawsuit, filed last year in Ventura County Superior Court, is in binding arbitration and a decision is expected this week. The suit also includes a sworn statement from a Florida bodybuilder and convicted drug dealer who said Dykstra paid him $20,000 plus “special perks” during their eight-year association to “bulk up” the once slight player.The bodybuilder, Jeff Scott, told the Times in an interview that he injected Dykstra with steroids “more times than I can count,” and that Dykstra stepped up his steroid use in 1993. That year, Dykstra finished second to Barry Bonds in MVP voting.

Nationals Pound Zambrano To End Mets’ Win Streak

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