Gee, Strange Play Send Mets over Nationals 5-1

Dillon Gee beat Washington for the third time this season and the New York Mets scored the go-ahead run when third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and shortstop Ian Desmond made errors on the same strange play to top the Nationals 5-1 Saturday.

Daniel Murphy delivered three hits and first baseman Josh Satin started a pair of nifty double plays for the Mets. The Nationals fell back to .500, losing to the team with the worst home record in the majors.

Gee (6-7) limited Washington to one run in six innings, working around six hits and three walks.

The right-hander has excelled against the Nationals, permitting just two runs in 18 2-3 innings this year while accounting for half of his win total. He's 6-1 lifetime against them — Gee hasn't beaten any other opponent more than three times.

Taylor Jordan (0-1) lasted 4 1-3 innings in his big league debut. He was promoted from Double-A earlier in the day and gave up three runs, although a pair of errors by Zimmerman helped make two of them unearned.

It was 1-all in the fifth when Murphy led off with a single and took second on a groundout. Marlon Byrd followed with a hard bouncer that handcuffed Zimmerman and deflected in the air, where Desmond alertly caught the ball with his bare hand on the edge of the outfield grass.

But Desmond tried an off-balance throw to get Murphy at third, and he skipped the awkward toss past Zimmerman. Murphy hustled the whole way and beat Zimmerman's throw home. Kirk Nieuwenhuis added a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead.

Eric Young Jr. had a sacrifice fly, and Byrd had an RBI single in the sixth.

Carlos Torres pitched two innings, and LaTroy Hawkins went the ninth to close it out for the Mets, a day after their bullpen blew a late 4-1 lead for starter Matt Harvey.

The 24-year-old Jordan earned his promotion after going a combined 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA in Double-A and Class A this year. Murphy singled with two outs in the third for the Mets' first hits.

Jordan gave up five hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out one. He also collected a couple of souvenirs — the ball for fanning Gee for his first strikeout, and another ball after he lined a single up the middle for his first big league hit.

Jordan hit 95 mph on the stadium radar gun, featuring a delivery where he whips the ball behind his back and then slings it to the plate. The right-hander is in the rotation while struggling Dan Haren is on the disabled list, and will soon be back at Citi Field — he's been picked the represent the Nationals in the All-Star Futures Game in two weeks.