Fister pitches Nationals to 2nd straight 1-0 win over Mets

NEW YORK (AP) That vaunted Washington rotation is starting to roll.

Doug Fister breezed through his latest dominant outing against the New York Mets, and the Nationals held on for their second straight 1-0 win Sunday at Citi Field.

It was the first time in franchise history, dating to the team's Montreal debut in 1969, the Nationals won consecutive 1-0 games, according to STATS.

''Obviously right now we're feeling pretty good,'' Fister said.

Ryan Zimmerman blooped an RBI single in the first inning, and the Nationals took three of four from the NL East leaders to make it 17 victories in their last 19 tries in Queens. A heavy favorite to win the division, Washington (12-14) has won five of six following a six-game losing streak.

Nationals reliever Matt Thornton struck out Lucas Duda with two runners in scoring position in the eighth, and Aaron Barrett whiffed cleanup man Michael Cuddyer to end the inning. Drew Storen pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

Prior to Gio Gonzalez's win Saturday night, saved by Storen, the Nationals had not won 1-0 on the road since May 15, 2008, also against the Mets.

''Nice. That's cool,'' Storen said. ''It's for us just to - like I said last night - just kind of not screw up what the starters are doing right now.

''It's been amazing to see,'' he added. ''Those guys are settled in, that's when it's really going to get fun. You couldn't ask for a better starting staff.''

Fister (2-1) threw 68 of 89 pitches for strikes before a quick hook from manager Matt Williams following a one-out double in the seventh. Tanner Roark, one of four relievers who combined to finish the five-hitter, kept New York off the scoreboard.

Fister allowed those five hits and walked none while improving to 5-0 with a 0.82 ERA in five starts against the Mets, who have dropped five of six. They are 3-7 since their 11-game winning streak.

Dillon Gee (0-2) was chased in the sixth. He has lasted at least five innings in 51 consecutive starts, breaking the previous club record held by Dwight Gooden (1987-89). It is the longest active streak in the majors.

Gee faded quickly after working hard in the middle innings. He was pulled with the bases loaded following his fifth walk, but Alex Torres momentarily rescued the Mets by striking out three straight to prevent any damage.

''I thought that was going to give us a huge energy boost and we could come back in and get some runs, but we just couldn't get squared up,'' manager Terry Collins said. ''We're not getting big hits, that's for sure. The middle of our lineup, we got neutralized pretty much today.''

Gee walked his first batter and New York, shaky on the infield, squandered two chances to turn a double play. That proved costly when Zimmerman poked a two-out RBI single off the end of his broken bat on an 0-2 pitch.

Cuddyer robbed Zimmerman of a fourth-inning home run with a leaping grab at the 358-foot sign in left.

''If I hit the ball hard, someone catches it. So I guess I just have to hit the ball soft every time,'' Zimmerman said.

Fister retired 14 of 15 before Gee's two-out single in the fifth.

ZERO HOUR

The last time the Mets had lost 1-0 on consecutive days was Sept. 4-5, 1990, at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, STATS said. The previous team to defeat New York 1-0 on back-to-back days was the Chicago Cubs in April 1973 at Shea Stadium. Ferguson Jenkins beat Tom Seaver in the opener in a matchup of future Hall of Famers.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: CF Denard Span (abdomen) was back in the leadoff spot after missing two games because of soreness and fatigue. ... 3B-2B Anthony Rendon (sprained left knee), on a rehab assignment at Double-A Harrisburg, sat out again. He was supposed to play seven innings at second base Saturday night but was scratched because he couldn't get his side loosened up, the Nationals said. Rendon got two at-bats Friday for Harrisburg after missing several games with tightness in his side

Mets: Struggling SS Wilmer Flores was rested for the second consecutive game.

UP NEXT

Nationals: Following a 5-5 road trip in NL East cities, Jordan Zimmermann (2-2) pitches Monday night at home in the opener of a three-game series against Miami. Zimmermann threw the first no-hitter in Nationals history against the Marlins in the regular-season finale last year. He gave up two runs over six innings in a no-decision at Miami on April 24.

Mets: Monday and Thursday are off days for the Mets, bookending a two-game interleague series versus visiting Baltimore. Bartolo Colon (4-1, 3.31 ERA) starts Tuesday night against Bud Norris (1-2, 12.18).