Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a tiebreaking, pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning off Jonathan Papelbon, and the resilient New York Mets rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 8-7 Tuesday night after Matt Harvey struggled on the mound.
The Mets' second straight comeback win over Washington extended their lead in the NL East to six games. New York will seek to complete a sweep on Wednesday.
Perhaps making one of his final starts of the regular season, Harvey gave up a career high-tying seven runs on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings and left with New York trailing 7-1.
The Mets erased the deficit with a six-run seventh inning fueled by six walks and a wild pitch. The big blow was a three-run double by Yoenis Cespedes, who one inning earlier committed an error that allowed three runs to score.
