WASHINGTON — Teddy Roosevelt — winner of the fourth-inning Presidents Race here — would certainly disapprove of the Mets carrying such little sticks.
At least the Mets scored twice in the fifth on Friday, snapping a 22-inning scoreless streak. That would have to suffice as progress on a night when Jon Niese didn’t have his best stuff against the Nationals and the Mets’ defense was far from crisp.
With almost nothing working, the Mets lost their third straight, 5-2 in front of 34,413 at Nationals Park.
Juan Lagares was on the bench for the fourth time in five games as manager Terry Collins continued to look toward other outfield options. But the fan-favorite Lagares will play Saturday against Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez, according to Collins.
Lagares walked as a pinch-hitter in the ninth against Rafael Soriano, and after Eric Young Jr. walked, Daniel Murphy hit a shot that Jayson Werth grabbed near the top of the right-field fence for the final out.
“I thought it had a chance,” Murphy said. “In my heart of hearts, I knew it was going to be close. I knew it was going to be tight, and Jayson made a good play on it.”
Niese (2-3) lasted four innings and allowed five runs, two of which were unearned, on eight hits and two walks. He was hurt by David Wright’s fielding error in the first inning that helped the Nationals score two unearned runs.
Werth delivered an RBI single for a run before Wilson Ramos hit a sacrifice fly and Tyler Moore’s fielder’s choice made it 3-0.
On Moore’s grounder, Murphy bobbled the ball, turning a potential inning-ending double play into a fielder’s choice.
“I just couldn’t get into a rhythm and fell behind,” Niese said. “I wasn’t able to execute pitches when I needed to and when that happens, it’s tough for everybody to stay on their toes when I’m working behind.”
Scott Hairston’s RBI double in the third and Moore’s ensuing run-scoring single extended the Nationals’ lead to 5-0 before the Mets began showing a pulse.
After going 22 innings scoreless — their second-longest drought of the season — the Mets got a run in the fifth on Ruben Tejada’s RBI ground out.
Young Jr. pulled the Mets within 5-2 later in the inning with a run-scoring double. Anthony Recker’s double after Lucas Duda’s leadoff single started the rally.
Before the game, Collins addressed questions of Lagares’ recent disappearance from the lineup.
“Juan is the center fielder, but we’ve got to somehow get his stroke back,” Collins said. “He’s trying to expand the zone a little bit right now and we want to get him back to where he’s taking some of those pitches. His defense is something we need very much, but we’re not scoring, so we’ve got to figure out how to get some runs.”
Lagares entered in a 5-for-27 (.185) slump over the previous eight games in which he had an at-bat. Overall, he is hitting .296 with a homer and 11 RBIs.
“The only thing I can do is be ready if the opportunity comes,” Lagares said. “I would like to do my job.”
Lagares added that he has not spoken with Collins about the situation.
“We’ve got five guys that can play [outfield] and you’ve got to get playing time for them,” Collins said. “That means somebody can’t play. Right now we’re trying to play the guys that can give us some offense — not that [Lagares] can’t, but right now he’s not.”