It was almost too much to ask.

Three times in the last five days a Nationals lineup that has struggled to score runs all season has been asked to do so against one of the league’s best pitchers. The results have been predictable.

Last weekend it was CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers. Each tossed a complete-game shutout. Tuesday night it was New York Mets ace Johan Santana. And while the Nats managed a draw with Santana before he left the game, it was the bullpen that faltered in a 4-3 loss.

Reliever Saul Rivera allowed two hits and a walk in the eighth inning and then hit Damion Easley in the helmet to force in the what proved to be the winning run. Nats manager Manny Acta forcefully argued the call made by home-plate umpire Rob Drake, believing the pitch sailed just over Easley’s head. But his protests were to no avail and New York’s struggling bullpen managed to close the game out over the final two innings and preserve the victory.

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Thus ended a battle against the Mets (63-56) and Santana, who entered the night with the seventh-lowest ERA in the majors. Washington (44-76) managed two runs in the first inning on RBI base hits by Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores to tie the game.

Flores batted 2-for-4 on the night. Austin Kearns also added two hits. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright all had multi-hit games for the Mets.

The Nats received a strong start of their own from Odalis Perez, who also fought off first-inning struggles and still kept his team close. He allowed eight hits over six innings. That gave pinch-hitter Ryan Langerhans the chance to tie the game in the seventh with a home run into the right-field seats off Santana.