Mets explode in extras, retain lead in National League East

Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.

The New York Mets will never lose again. At least, it feels that way after the team’s 9-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

Things started out poorly, though, as New York found themselves down 5-0 after the third inning. The team rallied, tying the contest in the fifth.

With both starters removed after the sixth inning, relievers on both clubs went into shutdown mode. Over the next six innings, both bullpens kept the other team off the board.

It was until the 13th that the streak finally ended. With Hector Neris on the mound for Philadelphia, the Mets began their charge.

Neris allowed two straight singles to start the frame, putting himself in a bad position. Though he was able to pick up an out, Neris quickly allowed a two-run double to Daniel Murphy, giving the Mets the 7-5 lead.

They weren’t finished. Another run would come around to score after Neris made an error on a David Wright grounder. Wright would later come around to score on a Michael Conforto single. By the time the inning was over, the Mets had built up a four-run lead.

They would hold on, picking up their seventh straight victory. With the win, the Mets improved to 71-56 on the year. 

NATIONALS TRY TO KEEP PACE

For a while, it was starting to look like the Washington Nationals might actually gain a game in the standings on Thursday. The club did their job, claiming a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres. 

Rookie Joe Ross tossed another strong start, giving up just one run over six strong innings. Ross allowed just one hit and two walks during the contest. He struck out seven. 

Ross was backed by both Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. Both players added solo home runs during the game. 

Closer Jonathan Papelbon entered the game with a three-run lead in the ninth, and though he had some trouble, still managed to nail down the save. 

The Mets would pull off the extra-innings victory a few hours later, meaning the Nationals did not advance in the standings despite the win. At 64-62, the club remains 6.5 games off the division lead. 

GREINKE GREAT AGAIN FOR DODGERS

It should come as no surprise that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke pitched another great game Thursday. Greinke was excellent again, leading Los Angeles to a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

For Greinke, it was his 18th start of the season in which he went at least six innings and gave up one run or less. In that regard, he’s been better than at least one other major-league team.

This was Zack Greinke’s 18th start of six more innings and 1 or 0 runs this season. All the Colorado Rockies combined have 15 such starts.

— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) August 27, 2015

With the performance, Greinke lowered his ERA to 1.61. He’ll enter the final season of the month as the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young award.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 70-56 on the year. The club has a 2.5 game lead in the NL West.

BUMGARNER HELPS GIANTS KEEP PACE

San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner made sure he kept his club in the race for the division Thursday. Bumgarner was fantastic during the club’s 9-1 win over the Chicago Cubs.

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Bumgarner went six strong innings, allowing one run on just two hits. He walked two and struck out 12 during the contest.

The double-digit strikeout total was significant, as Bumgarner tied a Giants legend with the performance.

Madison Bumgarner is 26 years old and he already has as many 10K+ games (25) as Juan Marichal? Wow.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 27, 2015

Following the performance, Bumgarner now has a 2.97 ERA on the year. The victory helped the Giants remain just 2.5 games back in the NL West.

Want to see more from Thursday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard. 

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik