Zimmerman helps ruin Bannister's day

NEW YORK -- On Wednesday night, the game-time temperature between the Nationals and Mets was 44 degrees at Shea Stadium, and the Nationals' bats were just as cold for the most of the game. But the lumber got hot in the late innings, as Washington defeated New York, 9-5, in 10 innings.

The deciding blow came in the 10th, when Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer off reliever Jorge Julio. The Nationals added three more runs in the inning, with Royce Clayton driving in two with a single and Damian Jackson doubling in the final run.

The winning pitcher was Chad Cordero, while Julio took the loss.

It looked like Mets right-hander Brian Bannister was going to be the hero on this night. He had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings, but he ended up allowing three runs on two hits in six innings. He struck out four batters and walked four.

Nationals right-hander John Patterson was the antithesis of Bannister, giving up four runs in only four innings. In fact, the Mets had a 4-0 lead after the third.

New York took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when David Wright singled to right field to drive in Jose Reyes.

Xavier Nady collected his fifth straight hit against the Nationals when he hit Patterson's 1-0 pitch into the left-field bleachers the next inning.

In the third, Carlos Delgado parked a two-run homer into the right-field stands. It was Delgado's first home run in a Mets uniform.

But the Nationals started making their comeback in the sixth inning, when Nick Johnson hit a three-run homer off Bannister to a make it a 4-3 game. Ryan Zimmerman then hit a solo shot off closer Billy Wagner in the ninth to tie the score at 4.