Frustrating season for Nationals ends with 1-0 loss to Mets

NEW YORK (AP) — With tears rolling down his face, shortstop Ian Desmond sounded as though he's already on his way out the door in Washington.

Embattled manager Matt Williams might be gone first.

Bryce Harper fell short in his pursuit of the NL batting crown and the Nationals mustered only two hits Sunday, ending a hugely disappointing season in fitting fashion with a 1-0 loss to the New York Mets.

"We thought we had one of the best teams in all of baseball," Harper said.

One day after Washington ace Max Scherzer pitched a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts to complete a doubleheader sweep, the Mets made a run at a combined no-hitter of their own.

And while the NL East champions geared up for their playoff matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the second-place Nationals (83-79) headed home left to ponder what went so horribly wrong for a team pegged World Series favorites way back in spring training.

"We had some things that went sideways and we had a whole bunch of injuries, and not much you can do about that except adjust and move on," Williams said. "We're all disappointed in the outcome. ... It all ends very abruptly."

That remains to be seen for Williams. Amid speculation Williams is likely to be fired, general manager Mike Rizzo said a decision will be made soon.

"We'll get home and evaluate everything," Williams said.

Desmond can become a free agent this fall along with pitcher Jordan Zimmermann and outfielder Denard Span. In the clubhouse after the game, a choked-up Desmond was crying.

"I'm extremely proud to say I was a Washington National," he said. "When I got drafted by the Expos, they didn't know where the team would be. But they couldn't have found a better home."

Jacob deGrom looked especially sharp in his abbreviated postseason tuneup, and the Mets finally scored on Curtis Granderson's eighth-inning homer off Blake Treinen (2-5).

Seven pitchers combined to hold Washington to two hits — the first was Clint Robinson's two-out single in the seventh inning off reliever Jonathon Niese.

Harper hustled for a two-out double in the ninth to finish 1 for 4, but that wasn't enough to beat out Miami speedster Dee Gordon for the National League batting title.

Gordon went 3 for 4 in Philadelphia and finished with a .333 average to Harper's .330. The front-runner for NL MVP, Harper began the day ahead by the slimmest of margins — .330754 to .330606.

The slugger ended his sensational season with 42 homers and 99 RBIs.

"I probably could've took the last two weeks off and hit .340 and do what I did," Harper said. "But Dee Gordon is such a great hitter, and he had over 200 hits, and I tip my cap to him because he's done such a great job all year long."

Jeurys Familia retired Jayson Werth on a fly to center for his 43rd save, equaling the Mets record set by Armando Benitez in 2001.

Ex-Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard (4-1) struck out two in a perfect eighth for the win.

The Mets (90-72) stopped a five-game losing streak that cost them home-field advantage in the Division Series against the Dodgers. Next up, deGrom starts Game 1 in the best-of-five matchup Friday at Los Angeles.

"I look at it as an opportunity missed," Werth said. "You look at what the Mets did down the stretch — that's how you win a division. You get timely hitting, timely pitching, they matched up well, they won big games, they got big hits. We failed to do that, regardless of injuries or anything else. That's the story at the end of the day."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Harper was back in the lineup after sitting out the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. He was hit by a fastball from hard-throwing Noah Syndergaard in the opener before connecting for a home run his next time up. But after the game, he was heavily bandaged in ice.

"I had to be in there today. I wanted to be with my team and I wanted to play the last game with Dezi if that was the way it was going to be," Harper said. "I was definitely excited to get that last knock against Familia, because I didn't want to make that last out in Citi Field.

STRONG START

Tanner Roark, a 15-game winner last year, permitted three hits in six shutout innings. He struck out six.

UP NEXT

After learning Williams' fate, the Nationals look ahead to their 2016 season opener April 4 at Atlanta.