Church Batters Former Mates as Mets Beat Nats

Ryan Church homered, doubled and drove in four runs against his former team and John Maine pitched six sharp innings to lead the New York Mets over the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Tuesday night. A night after Mets starter Nelson Figueroa called the Nationals "softball girls" for cheering in the dugout during his loss, Maine (5-2) hit Felipe Lopez with his first pitch of the game.

The ball grazed Lopez's right leg but the leadoff hitter angrily threw his bat in front of the plate and briefly glared at Maine as he walked down first base. There were no other moments of potential trouble, even when David Wright had to dive to the dirt to avoid being hit by a pitch, as the Mets amassed more than 10 hits for the second straight night. (More baseball stories.)