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Stephen Strasburg allowed two hits in six scoreless innings to outduel Johan Santana and the Washington Nationals beat the Mets, 4-0, in Wednesday afternoon's rubber game. After opening the season with four straight wins, the Mets headed into Thursday's off-day losers of two straight and tied with the Nats atop the division standings.

After mustering a season-low three hits and issuing 10 walks in the series finale against Washington, the Mets attempt to regroup in Philadelphia on Friday night, when R.A. Dickey opposes Cliff Lee. Jon Niese then faces Vance Worley on Saturday, followed by Mike Pelfrey and Cole Hamels on Sunday.

By the way, on the Citi Field revised dimension tracker, the Mets now have taken advantage of the new specs for two additional homers, whereas opponents have yet to capitalize. Lucas Duda went deep in the fourth inning Saturday against Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens, while Kirk Nieuwenhuis took advantage in the fourth inning two days later against Washington's Edwin Jackson.

I'll be chatting Mets at SportsNation at 11 a.m. today. Please join me here.

Thursday's news reports:

• Santana tossed 99 pitches, four over the soft cap Terry Collins had publicly identified, and the southpaw's highest pitch count in any organized game since Aug. 28, 2010. With a short bench minus active David Wright, Collins used Santana to bunt in the bottom of the fifth. Santana tossed 84 pitches in his first 2012 start. Collins said the Mets actually hoped to keep Santana to 105 pitches Wednesday, not 95. He was removed Wednesday after a six-pitch leadoff walk in the sixth to Jayson Werth. The lone run to score against Santana came on a second-inning wild pitch. He became the sixth pitcher in franchise history to limit an opponent to no more than one run in each his first two starts to a season and yet not be credited with at least one win. The others: Pat Mahomes (2000), Pete Harnisch (1995), Rick Anderson (1986), Ron Darling (1985) and Don Cardwell (1969). Read game recaps in the Star-Ledger, Times, Record, Journal, Daily News, Post and Newsday.

• Collins expressed confidence Wright will return to the lineup Friday, four days after suffering a fracture to his right pinkie diving back into first base on a pickoff throw from the Nats' Jackson. (Of course, the manager initially also wishfully believed Wright's abdominal tear would be a day-to-day thing.) Wright, who received a customized splint Wednesday, is due to see a hand specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery today. "I'm not a doctor," Collins told reporters. "I don't mean to step on the doctor's toes. I will never do that. But when they give us a final diagnosis of the whole thing, my gut tells me that you'll see him Friday."

After Wright's Thursday visit to the specialist, there may be more clarity about whether a disabled list trip is required. If Wright lands on the DL, Collins expects to shift Daniel Murphy to third base. Wright has only been on the DL twice in his career -- after a 2009 beaning by San Francisco's Matt Cain that resulted in a concussion, and last season after discovering he was playing with a stress fracture in his lower back. Read more in Newsday and the Star-Ledger.

• Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record offered this review of Santana-Strasburg and the Mets' three-hit attack:

That’s the surcharge they’re paying for David Wright’s injury: Without him, the lineup looks lost, rudderless. Ike Davis is a walking ghost with one hit in his first 20 at-bats, and Lucas Duda (.136) and Jason Bay (.158) aren’t much better. In all, the Mets struck out 15 times, and not just because of Strasburg. Washington’s relief corps registered six of the last nine outs with punch-outs. The effect was impossible to ignore -- it was as if the four-game winning streak never happened. Collins watched in disgust as the Mets issued 10 walks, seven by his relievers in the last four innings. And he couldn’t help but criticize the Mets’ passivity at the plate, noting in particular how many pitches they took “right down the middle.” This underscores just how narrow the Mets’ axis of success really is. They can’t generate enough offense without Wright, and they’ll soon need Santana to go deeper than five or six innings per start.

• Columnist David Lennon in Newsday echoed the concern about a Wright-less lineup. Wrote Lennon:

This lineup, as currently constructed, can't sustain Wright's prolonged absence. The only righthanded threat, and we're using that term loosely here, is Bay and he's 3-for-19 with eight strikeouts after whiffing twice more Wednesday. Ike Davis snapped an 0-for-18 opening skid with his sixth-inning single to avoid tying Todd Pratt for the dubious record of hitless streak for a Mets position player to start a season. It was one of only three hits by the Mets as they slipped to .167 (9-for-54) with runners in scoring position. Wright, remember, was batting .583 (7-for-12) with a .647 on-base percentage, a home run and four RBIs before he injured his finger diving back to first base. The Mets can't come close to replacing that. Not now, anyway.

• Wrote columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News:

You could just feel the pall once again settling in over Citi Field as all the dire prognostications for this Mets team seemed back on track. Ordinarily, a 4-2 home stand in which Johan Santana turned in two strong, almost vintage, though abbreviated outings would be cause for optimism -- if only all the things Terry Collins privately worried about hadn’t reared their ugly heads so quickly.

• Columnist Joel Sherman at his Post blog advocates MLB creating a seven-game DL because of situations like Wright's knuckle injury. Writes Sherman:

Would some teams abuse the seven-day DL as a way, for example, to remove a starter who wasn’t going to play seven days anyway and get an additional player on for a week? Probably. But you can minimize the abuses by a) Making it a seven-game, not seven-day DL so that off-days and/or rainouts cannot be used to manipulate. b) Create an injury clearing house at MLB whereby any seven-game DL stint has to be signed off on by a doctor not affiliated with the team. c) Not allow the use of the seven-game DL after the All-Star game, so teams are not abusing the privilege during a pennant stretch. Remember that rosters can expand to 40 men after Sept. 1 anyway.

• Ike Davis' sixth-inning single Wednesday snapped an 0-for-18 start. It was the longest season-opening skid by a Mets position player since Todd Pratt opened the 2001 season hitless in 19 at-bats, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Jason Bay, meanwhile, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts as his average dipped to .158. Collins was ejected by plate umpire Larry Vanover for arguing a called third strike against Bay. “I actually feel pretty good," Bay told reporters afterward. "I’ve faced some good pitching the last couple days and it’s really a matter of just building on it. I feel like I’m having good at-bats as far as seeing the ball and doing certain things. There were times the last few years you’re kind of guessing and not even close. But I don’t feel like I’m there at all.” Read more in Newsday and the Daily News.

• Duda had an entertaining Q&A with Steve Serby in the Post. The exchange includes:

Q: Bo Jackson was your boyhood idol?

A: Bo Knows Everything. Bo Knows tennis, Bo Knows cycling, Bo Knows bowling ... I had that picture of him where he had like the football pads and he had like a baseball bat in his hand and ... cycling shorts on. I just think he was a freak athlete. It’s awesome to see anybody climb up a wall and run two steps on the side of the wall and catch a ball.

• Sean Ratliff, who underwent four eye surgeries and missed all of last season after being struck late in 2011 spring training with a foul ball, played his first regular-season game on Wednesday night since Sept. 6, 2010. Ratliff started in left field for Class A St. Lucie. Meanwhile, in Triple-A Buffalo's home opener, Zach Lutz launched two homers in a win against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Read the full minor league recap here.

• On the 50th anniversary of the first game in Mets history, Roger Craig threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field before Wednesday's game. Craig started Game 1 for the 40-120 Amazin's, on April 11, 1962 -- an 11-4 loss at St. Louis. Read more in the Record, Post and Newsday.

• Strasburg was allowed to reach the 100-pitch plateau for the first time. Read more in the Times.

• 1986 Met Ray Knight said in a radio interview he has felt shunned by the organization, according to the Daily News. "I’ve never been able to get anybody from the Mets to really call me," Knight said, the newspaper reported. “I get invited to the big events, but the Mets have just never treated the players the way the other clubs do. Detroit, Houston, Cincinnati, I always get notes, cards, stuff from them. I never get anything from the Mets. I don’t know what I did to the front office. I always tried to be a professional and comport myself with class. But I’ve never had anybody act as if it mattered.”

• Mike Harrington profiles Jordany Valdespin in the Buffalo News. Valdespin started a fifth straight game in center field Wednesday.

TRIVIA: Strasburg beat the Mets on Wednesday in his second career start against them. Which current MLB pitcher had the most starts against the Mets before finally being credited with a win?

Wednesday's answer: The other six active MLBers who have 500 career RBIs and primarily play third base, along with Washington's Ryan Zimmerman and Wright: Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Aramis Ramirez, Adrian Beltre and Eric Chavez.

WHAT IT MEANS: That perfect start to the season? After Washington beat the Mets, 6-2, Tuesday night at Citi Field, it’s over -- one win shy of matching the franchise-record 5-0 start the Mets posted in 1985 under Davey Johnson, who is now in the Nats’ dugout.

The worst news: The Mets announced during Tuesday’s game that David Wright had suffered a fracture to the middle joint of his right pinkie during the previous night’s game. He will wear a splint, but will not require surgery.

The Mets already had lost starting center fielder Andres Torres during the opening homestand with a strained left calf muscle.

OH, GEE: Dillon Gee allowed a game-opening homer to Ian Desmond after falling behind in the count, 2-0. But Gee kept the Nats off the scoreboard until a three-run sixth, which was exacerbated by fielding difficulties.

With the score 2-0 and two Nats on base with one out in the sixth, Bobby Parnell entered. Daniel Murphy then committed an error on a would-be inning-ending double-play grounder by Roger Bernadina. Wilson Ramos followed by sending a ball to deep right-center. Lucas Duda could not handle the catchable ball, which was scored an RBI double.

Gee was charged with four runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out six and walking one in 5 1/3 innings.

Parnell, who surrendered another run in the seventh for a 5-0 Nats lead, ended up throwing 51 pitches in 1 2/3 innings. He recorded four strikeouts.

Murphy, by the way, also lost the handle while trying to turn a double play in the first inning. He was credited with the out at second base, so there was no error assessed on that play. He also failed to turn a double play in the ninth -- his third miss on a would-be twin killing in the game.

UNLIKE IKE: Ike Davis pinch hit with two on and two out in the seventh and fanned against Sean Burnett by chasing a third strike in the dirt. Davis is 0-for-16 on the season, with seven strikeouts.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Mets conclude their season-opening six-game homestand with a stellar matinee matchup Wednesday. Johan Santana, pitching on an extra day of rest and likely capped at 95 pitches, opposes Nats phenom Stephen Strasburg.

Stephen Strasburg, who opposes Johan Santana in Wednesday's matinee that completes the Mets' homestand, received some lofty praise from Davey Johnson.

Johnson said Strasburg reminds him of none other than Dwight Gooden.

"He's legit," the '86 Mets manager said.

Read Johnson's full comments, and a preview of Santana-Strasburg, here.

Don’t look now, but the Mets are a win Tuesday away from matching the best start in franchise history -- established by the 1985 edition, which opened 5-0.

“Everybody is excited about the start,” Terry Collins said after the Mets beat the Washington Nationals, 4-3, Monday night at Citi Field on Daniel Murphy’s walk-off RBI single. “We talked about it in the first meeting we had in spring training -- the importance of getting out of the gate. No. 1, we know it’s a long year. We know it’s four games. But I think we want to show our fans, what we say, maybe there’s some truth to it. And that is that we’re a better team than people are giving us credit for.”

Murphy had two key plays in the final frame -- the hitting heroics with the single off Henry Rodriguez and a fielding play that preceded it.

In the top half while manning second base, Murphy ranged to his right and smothered Ryan Zimmerman’s grounder up the middle. He then got the ball to Ruben Tejada covering the bag for a forceout of Ian Desmond that ended Jon Rauch’s second scoreless inning.

“A great play to knock that ball down,” Collins said. “If that balls gets through, they’re first and third. Holes open up in the infield. Dan Murphy, what can I say? Every minute of every game he’s all out.”

Murphy came to bat in the ninth with Mike Baxter at third base, Tejada at second and none out.

Baxter, pinch-hitting, had walked to open the bottom of the ninth. Tejada then produced a sacrifice bunt with two strikes, which Rodriguez fired past first base. On the play, Baxter nearly tried to score. But third base coach Tim Teufel managed to hold Baxter up halfway down the line. Baxter slid awkwardly while stopping. Murphy then followed with the game-winning single.

“The last thing I wanted to do was have the first out at home,” Teufel said. “So when I saw him reach down for the ball, that’s when I decided to put the brakes on for him.”

Said Baxter: “A skid out. I took some grass, but it worked out well. Thankfully I saw the stop sign and pulled up. It all worked. I was trying to score. Once I saw the ball get away I figured we might have a chance to score. And then he put the brakes on. I did my best to stop, but I lost the edge. I just saw the replay. It’s not too nice.”

As for bunting with two strikes on a challenging slider from Rodriguez, Tejada said: “It’s a tough at-bat, but I have to do my work in that situation. A runner at first, nobody out, I have to put the ball in play. It’s not easy.”

• As for Mike Pelfrey’s performance in allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings, Collins said: “I said, ‘Look, you’ve got to be positive. You got groundballs.’ It’s there. Stay with it. … I thought Mike battled. I thought he really did. I thought he hung in there. That’s what he does. He did it last year. I can see him doing it this year. That’s why he gives you 200 innings.”

Said Pelfrey: “I think we introduced the curveball maybe in the fourth or fifth inning. That kind of helped. Definitely, early, I missed a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate. You can’t do that. I think I need to be down a little bit more and, like I said, keep it out of the middle and I think I’ll be fine. But stuff-wise, I thought it was good. If I could take that out there every night, it’s going to be a good year.”

Recap | Box score | Photos

WHAT HAPPENED: Using a lineup with eight homegrown players pre-September roster expansion for the first time since April 19, 1990, the Mets beat the Washington Nationals, 4-3, Monday night at Citi Field in walk-off fashion.

Mike Baxter opened the ninth by walking against Henry Rodriguez. Baxter then went to third when Rodriguez threw away Ruben Tejada's sacrifice bunt. Daniel Murphy plated Baxter with a line single to right field.

At 4-0, the Mets are off to their best start since also winning four straight to open 2007.

Murphy produced his second career walkoff RBI -- the other coming on Aug. 16, 2009 against the San Francisco Giants.

KIRK CHAMPION: Kirk Nieuwenhuis produced his first major league homer and RBIs with a two-run shot off Edwin Jackson in the fourth inning, which evened the score at 3.

Nieuwenhuis became the 12^th Met to homer at least once in his first three major league games. The others: Mike Jacobs (2005), Kazuo Matsui (2004), Lenny Dykstra (1985), Mike Fitzgerald (1983), Lee Mazzilli (1976), Benny Ayala (1974), Ron Hodges (1973), Dave Schneck (1972), Ken Singleton (1970), Duffy Dyer (1969) and Ron Swoboda (1965).

Nieuwenhuis’ shot hit the Modell’s sign in the old nook in right field, which would have bounced back into play a season ago. The Mets have now out-homered opponents 2-0 in balls that would have remained in play under the old Citi Field dimensions. The other long ball that would not have been a homer the previous three seasons: Lucas Duda’s fourth-inning shot Saturday against Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens.

OPEN MIKE: Mike Pelfrey surrendered three runs and 10 hits while striking out a career-high-tying eight and walking one in 5 2/3 innings. He threw 104 pitches (63 strikes) in his first 2012 start.

Pelfrey left two Nats on base with two out in the sixth, and Miguel Batista stranded them by striking out Ian Desmond.

Batista issued a pair of walks to open the following inning, but Ramon Ramirez eventually bailed him out by getting Jayson Werth to hit into an inning-ending double play. Jon Rauch contributed two scoreless relief innings.

The Mets had not trailed all season until Adam LaRoche’s RBI single in the first inning -- the third straight hit against Pelfrey. But the right-hander rallied that inning by fanning Werth with a 95 mph fastball, then coaxing a groundout from Mark DeRosa.

LAST STRAW: David Wright pulled within four RBIs of matching Darryl Strawberry’s franchise-record 733 with a run-scoring single in the third inning that pulled the Mets within 3-1.

0 NO: Ike Davis remained hitless. Davis, who is scheduled to sit Tuesday, went 0-for-4 and is now hitless in 15 at-bats this season. With Tejada on third base and two out in the seventh and the score tied at 3, Tom Gorzelanny intentionally walked Wright to get to Davis, who grounded out.

WHAT’S NEXT: Terry Collins goes to the righty half of his center-field platoon as Scott Hairston starts at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday. Hairston pinch hit for Nieuwenhuis in the eighth inning Monday and struck out to strand the potential go-ahead run at second base. Dillon Gee makes his season debut opposite Nats left-hander Ross Detwiler.

METS (3-0, first place/NL East) vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS (2-1, second place/NL East)

Monday: RHP Mike Pelfrey vs. RHP Edwin Jackson, 7:10 p.m. ET

Tuesday: RHP Dillon Gee vs. LHP Ross Detwiler, 7:10 p.m. ET

Wednesday: LHP Johan Santana (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg (0-0, 1.29), 1:10 p.m. ET

Nationals short hops

• Ross Detwiler claimed the fifth-starter’s job over fellow southpaw John Lannan, in the spot available because Chien-Ming Wang strained his left hamstring March 15. Lannan, assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, asked GM Mike Rizzo for a trade after the decision, then sent an email to beat reporters the following day acknowledging the request. After Wang suffered the injury, manager Davey Johnson had said Lannan would be the fifth starter. Lannan is due to earn $5 million this season. The Nats are only expected to trade Lannan if they get something of consequence in return, since they will need starting pitching depth during the season. Detwiler’s spring-training ERA was 3.06, to Lannan’s 5.14. The Nats did not think Lannan would be comfortable in the bullpen, so they sent him to Syracuse and instead carried Craig Stammen in a major league relief role.

• Cleanup hitter Michael Morse is expected to be activated from the disabled list as soon as Tuesday. He homered Friday, during a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg, as he returns from a right lat muscle tear. After coming to New York on Saturday for preplanned treatment, Morse returned to the Eastern League club Sunday to continue a rehab assignment. Bergen Catholic product Mark DeRosa started in left field the first two games of the season, while ex-Met Xavier Nady manned the position Sunday. DeRosa was signed at winter meetings to fill the void after Chris Marrero suffered a hamstring injury in winter ball in November that will sideline him the first half of the season. DeRosa has undergone three wrist surgeries in past two years, but appears healthy now. Nady signed in mid-March after being jobless.

• Jayson Werth is expected to play center field against left-handed pitchers, with Nady manning right field. Primarily the right fielder, Werth is due to make $13 million in 2012, in the second season of a seven-year, $126 million deal. He hit .232 with 20 homers, 58 RBIs and 19 steals in his first season with the Nats.

• Roger Bernadina has started in center field the first three games against right-handers, while fellow lefty-hitting outfielder Rick Ankiel opens the season on the disabled list with quadriceps tightness. Ankiel, who originally re-signed with the Nats on a minor league deal, will earn $1.25 million this season. He has started a rehab assignment, but is not eligible to be activated until Saturday.

• Chad Tracy spent last season in Japan, where he hit only .235 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 149 at-bats with Hiroshima. Tracy has been big off the bench so far. After making the Opening Day roster because of Ankiel’s quadriceps injury, Tracy already twice has delivered successful pinch hits -- including a two-run, go-ahead single in the eighth Saturday against Carlos Marmol, who was attempting a four-out save.

• Stephen Strasburg started Opening Day and limited the Cubs to one run and five hits while striking out five and walking one in seven innings. Strasburg breezed through the first two innings, requiring only 14 pitches. He ultimately received a no-decision. The Nats have pledged to cap Strasburg’s innings at 160 this season after he missed most of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, although playoff contention would test that commitment.

• Drew Storen, who recorded 43 saves last year, opened the season on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation. Brad Lidge, who signed a one-year, $1 million deal, and flame-throwing Henry Rodriguez will close in Storen’s absence. Lidge, 35, picked up the save on Opening Day at Wrigley Field -- only the ex-Phillie’s second save since Sept. 27, 2010. The Nats have an ultra-deep bullpen. Rodriguez has been clocked at 101 mph, with a 94 mph changeup. Set-up man Tyler Clippard (3-0, 1.83 ERA in 2011) earned an All-Star invitation last season.

• Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman agreed to a six-year, $100 million extension Feb. 26. The deal is on top of the combined $26 million he was due to earn between this season and 2013. The Nats have a team option for 2020.

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Jon Niese turned in another solid performance, limiting Washington to two runs on five hits and a walk in six innings to lower his Grapefruit League ERA to 3.98, but the Mets lost to the Nats, 3-2, Wednesday as Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld watched at Digital Domain Park.

Scott Hairston went 0-for-3 and manned center field in his first Grapefruit League action, while Jason Bay returned after a two-day absence for a right forearm bruise and went 0-for-3 to drop his average to .212.

“A very positive day,” said Hairston, who returned from a strained left oblique. “It felt really good to be out there again. Everything went well, as planned. … I always envisioned starting the year with the team. I wanted to do that. I wanted to think that way. I didn’t want to think negatively. I feel great now, and Opening Day seems like a really good possibility.”

Andres Torres (strained left calf), who has started swinging a bat, and Hairston both may be on the Opening Day roster after all.

“I think we’ll have, if not both of them, one of them, for sure, out there,” Terry Collins said. “… One thing I want to do is get Scott Hairston ready offensively. And that’s going to mean there are going to be some days he’s not going to play defense, because he’s going to go to the minor league camp and get at-bats. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next five days.”

• Niese has one more start -- on an extra day of rest Tuesday against the Yankees in Port St. Lucie, with a reduced pitch count, likely 50 to 60. That will line him up for the third game of the regular season, April 8 against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.

Niese used first-pitch changeups to keep the Nats off-balance Wednesday. He surrendered a solo homer in the fourth inning to Jayson Werth. Ian Desmond went 4-for-4 -- with three of the hits against Niese -- and scored in the third inning against the southpaw. Niese struck out six. After six innings, Niese continued his work on a bullpen mound, concentrating on curveballs during the extra session while getting his pitch count up.

“It’s one of those things where I’m never satisfied with it,” Niese said about the curveball. “I think the more my arm gets in shape, the better off it is. I think I’m at the point now in spring training where my arm is in really good shape.”

Said Collins: “He’s had a great spring. I expect a huge year out of him.”

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Matt Harvey, part of the organization’s quartet of highly regarded pitching prospects, was rocked for three homers and five runs in an inning. Jason Bay left the game with a bruised right forearm. And the Washington Nationals snapped an 11-game Grapefruit League winless streak with a 12-0 win against the Mets on Sunday afternoon at Space Coast Stadium.

Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg tossed five scoreless innings, limiting the Mets to five hits, a walk and the drilling of Bay with a fastball while striking out five. The Mets did load the bases against Strasburg in the third inning, but Ike Davis grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s got a great arm,” Terry Collins said. “It’s quite obvious. A live arm. Today, when the game got out of control, I’ll bet he was just out getting his work done. When you pitch at 96 mph, and can hit 99 or 100, that’s pretty good stuff. He’s got a good breaking ball. That’s the best changeup Ike said he’s seen off of him.”

Ruben Tejada went 2-for-3 with a double in the loss, while Frank Francisco and Bobby Parnell each tossed scoreless innings while working for the second straight day. Parnell, who allowed a hit and walk before retiring Jayson Werth on an inning-ending flyout in the sixth, struck out two and ran his scoreless streak in Grapefruit League play to 7 1/3 innings.

“Bobby’s throwing the ball very, very well,” Collins said.

Parnell, despite a minor league option remaining, clearly has pitched his way into the major league bullpen, with Collins quipping: “Hell, he may be the last man standing the way they’re dropping.”

Collins was referring to D.J. Carrasco and Pedro Beato both likely to start the season on the major league disabled list. Carrasco has an ankle injury. Beato, who has a shoulder issue, threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Thursday, but has not returned to a mound. He likely was ticketed for Triple-A Buffalo to open the season, but now probably picks up service time and major league pay.

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Johan Santana will attempt to up his pitch count to 80 in his fourth Grapefruit League start as the Mets travel down I-95 to Jupiter to take on the Cardinals this afternoon. Also scheduled to pitch: Miguel Batista, Bobby Parnell and Manny Acosta. Jake Westbrook starts for St. Louis. Bullpen catcher Eric Langill, after serving a team-imposed seven-day suspension following a DUI arrest, is listed for the trip, according to the Record.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Jeff Wilpon golfed with Terry Collins on Monday and was visible at the Mets' spring training complex Tuesday, but Sandy Alderson spoke to the media on behalf of the organization. Alderson suggested the owners' settlement of the Bernard Madoff-related lawsuit resembled clouds parting over the organization. The GM said the Mets were on much firmer footing with the clawback lawsuit resolved and with a $240 million infusion of capital from minority investors. While Alderson said the Mets still primarily will focus on their farm system, the GM noted the positive financial developments will make it easier to have the option to pursue free agents. Alderson added that the developments do not materially change how the organization will deal with David Wright as free-agency eligibility approaches. Alderson also did not promise the payroll would rise next season from this year's roughly $91 million. Listen to a podcast of Alderson's comments here. Read more in the Post, Journal, Times, Record, Newsday, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• The Mets formally announced the sale of 12 ownership shares at $20 million apiece, although they did not identify the investors. Fred Wilpon previously has acknowledged SportsNet New York would buy four of the shares. Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz, who is Fred Wilpon's brother-in-law, purchased two others. The Times reported three of the shares are actually going to family members and that only five shares -- worth $100 million -- are from outside investors. The Wall Street Journal outed two investors who combined to purchase part of one 4 percent, $20 million block -- Bob Pittman and Kenneth Lerer. The infusion allowed the Mets to pay off a $25 million emergency loan from Major League Baseball as well as a $40 million bridge loan from Bank of America, the team announced.

• Andres Torres departed after two innings on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals after suffering a strained left calf muscle. With Scott Hairston (oblique) still sidelined, Collins resolved to take a look at left fielder Jason Bay and infielder Jordany Valdespin in center field. Torres hopes he is day-to-day and the injury is not longer term. Hairston started to work out with teammates Tuesday, but is not yet swinging a bat and is iffy for Opening Day. Read more in the Daily News, Record, Post and Newsday.

• Wright said he is purposefully taking "baby steps" in returning from his abdominal muscle tear. Collins hoped to have the third baseman in a game this weekend, or no later than early next week. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• The Mets snapped a nine-game winless streak in Grapefruit League play with a 2-0 victory against the Nats on Tuesday night at Digital Domain Park. Dillon Gee contributed 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Lucas Duda had an opposite-field solo homer against phenom Stephen Strasburg. Ruben Tejada played five innings in his first game action in nine days and turned a pair of double plays with Daniel Murphy. The Mets are now 4-11-1 in the Grapefruit League.

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey allowed three earned runs in six innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. Jean Luc Blaquiere had a two-run homer in the Bisons' 4-4 tie with the Miami Marlins' top affiliate. Read the minor league recap here.

• A team official said the Mets do not intend to sign any of the left-handers on the market -- C.J. Nitkowski (who auditioned in Port St. Lucie), Hong-Chih Kuo, Scott Kazmir or Dontrelle Willis. Willis actually is headed to the Baltimore Orioles, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports.

• Ken Belson in the Times notes the trustee recovering funds for victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the Wilpons are now allies. That's because every dollar trustee Irving Picard collects on behalf of victims helps defray the $162 million settlement amount to which the Wilpons agreed. The Wilpons are entitled to apply to recover $178 million in losses, which will lessen their settlement burden. "In a sense, we’re now partners,” Picard's chief counsel, David Sheehan, said according to Belson. “They have an interest in us getting 100 percent recovery and they should be supportive, and we will be supportive by trying to collect all those funds.”

• Columnist Harvey Araton in the Times says there is no secret method to energize a fan base and give it hope: Just spend money. That will continue to be easier said than done with the Mets. Writes Araton:

Winning apparently clears the slate and cleanses the soul. Wilpon could spend the next few years climbing trees, saving cats and parking fans’ cars. They won’t stick with him if his team can’t play. Fans in the 21st century, often feeling like victims of another kind of Ponzi scheme, are just willfully blind that way.

TRIVIA: Which player in Mets major league camp was selected with the earliest pick in the draft?

Tuesday's answer: Bubba Bell led Triple-A Buffalo in stolen bases in 2011 with nine.

Dillon Gee tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Mets blanked the Washington Nationals, 2-0, on Tuesday night to snap a nine-game winless streak in Grapefruit League play.

Lucas Duda delivered an opposite-field solo homer for the lone run surrendered by Stephen Strasburg in five innings, during which the Nats’ ace limited the Mets to two hits and a walk.

Jason Bay walked with two out in the sixth against right-hander Ryan Mattheus, stole second and scored on a single by Ike Davis to cap the scoring.

The Mets used their full lineup with the exception of Justin Turner subbing for David Wright, who is still working back from an abdominal muscle tear.

• Ruben Tejada returned to exhibition play for the first time in nine days after pronouncing his groin strain healed. Tejada doubled down the third-base line for the other hit against Strasburg and also turned a pair of double plays in the middle infield with Daniel Murphy -- one 4-6-3, and one 6-4-3. Tejada departed after five innings for Ronny Cedeno.

Tejada’s recovery from the groin injury was tested when he ranged to his right, fielded a deep grounder and made a jump-stop throw that narrowly failed to retire Ian Desmond at first base to open the fourth inning.

“That’s a really good test,” Tejada said.

Tejada and Murphy had logged only six innings in the Grapefruit League together before Tuesday’s game, but infield coach Tim Teufel said the tandem actually had worked together a lot on back fields, even while Tejada was being held out of games.

“They’ve had a lot of reps,” Teufel said. “They’ve gotten to know where they like the ball, where they want it thrown to.”

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Hard-throwing phenom Stephen Strasburg faces the Mets on Tuesday night. Here's the Nationals lineup:

Steve Lombardozzi, 3b
Ian Desmond, ss
Danny Espinosa, 2b
Mark DeRosa, 1b
Wilson Ramos, c
Rick Ankiel, cf
Brett Carroll, lf
Roger Bernadina, rf
Stephen Strasburg, rhp

R.A. Dickey allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings and the Washington Nationals beat the Mets, 8-2, on Saturday afternoon at Space Coast Stadium.

The Nats delivered four straight first-inning hits, including Adam LaRoche’s RBI single and Wilson Ramos’ two-run double. Ryan Zimmerman doubled in each of the first two innings, the latter driving in two runs and giving Washington a 5-2 lead.

“Certainly you’d like to see a little bit better results, but there’s a part of spring training that you have to be real pragmatic about,” Dickey said. “I’m gathering information, and I got a lot of information today from the Nationals. Hopefully I can put that to use. You know, I faced these guys so much during the regular season last year and the year before. They’ve got a pretty good idea of what they need to do to probably have success. And I need to identify what that is, and feel like I took a step in that direction today.”

Asked what precisely he was looking for from the Nationals batters, Dickey added: “Their approach. The way they swing. How they work to contact the baseball in the strike zone. There are things out there that you can file and use. … Without wanting to put out to the public what I feel like I may or may not have discovered, a lot of times with teams with a knuckleballer they’ll take a different approach -- whether it’s that they take a two-strike approach the whole at-bat. That would be a general example. With certain guys on this team, they have had a way of attacking me.”

• The Mets had a two-run second inning against Chien-Ming Wang, although the Nats nearly escaped the bases-loaded, no-out jam. After Josh Satin struck out, Rob Johnson hit into a would-be 4-6-3 DP. However, second baseman Mark DeRosa flubbed Johnson’s grounder and had to settle for the out at first as Ike Davis scored. Omar Quintanilla followed with an RBI single.

• Wang underwent the same surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in the pitching shoulder that Johan Santana did. After the ex-Yankee’s procedure, it took him precisely two full years to return to the majors, coincidentally against the Mets last July 29.

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Nationals phenom Bryce Harper is in the lineup against the Mets on Monday at 6 p.m. Here's Washington's full lineup,via Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post:

Roger Bernadina, lf
Steve Lombardozzi, 2b
Mark Teahen, 3b
Chad Tracy, 1b
Rick Ankiel, cf
Bryce Harper, rf
Jesus Flores, c
Xavier Paul, dh
Andres Blanco, ss

John Lannan, lhp

On the day third baseman Ryan Zimmerman completed a six-year extension with the Washington Nationals that now locks him up through 2019 for a total of $126 million, and which offers him no-trade protection beginning in two years, David Wright knew why New York reporters encircled his locker.

Wright, 29, is signed for $15 million this season. The Mets hold a $16 million option for 2013, or otherwise are responsible for a $1 million buyout.

“We haven’t approached the Mets, and the Mets haven’t approached our side. It’s kind of status quo,” said Wright, who grew up playing on travel teams with Zimmerman since their pre-teen years in their native Norfolk, Va. “There’s nothing to report. Ryan is in a different situation where they’ve been working on this for a while. It’s good for baseball. He was their first pick going to Washington. He’s been there for a lot of downs. It looks like he’s going to be there for a lot of ups as well because they’re obviously making some strides in the right direction.”

When does Wright feel is the proper time for the Mets to engage him, if they intend to? Wright said he was unsure, but predicted it would be the Mets, not him or his agents, who initiate any contact.

“I haven’t even discussed that with my agents, and obviously the team hasn’t discussed it with my agents or me,” Wright said. “I think that it might occur in the future. It might not. I don’t know. I’m not really sure the protocol, but I would assume the team pretty much approaches the player. I don’t think the front office wants 25 different phone calls from 25 different agents about extensions. We’ll wait and see. I’m very happy with my situation. I’ll go out and just try to play and not worry about that. The last thing on my mind is next year or the year after that.”

Wright figures the Mets probably need to wait to see whether their finances stabilize anyway, so now is not a practical time. He noted it’s probably better not to discuss extensions during spring training or in-season anyway. So next offseason is when it might make sense to begin exploring it.

“Probably, yeah,” Wright said about the team's uncertain finances prompting the club to wait to engage him. “I don’t know what’s going on with the financial situation or the court cases or anything like that. I’m not sure how much that has to do with the players on the field. But I’m sure they’d like to get that cleared up. But, with that being said, we haven’t even made a phone call. They haven’t made a phone call. I’m not unhappy about that. I’m really happy with the situation I’m in and am just kind of looking forward to the year.

“I think Ryan did it the right way. They did it before spring training, per se. Now it’s kind of out of the way. My first extension we signed about halfway through the 2006 season. It’s probably better to not even do it during the season or during spring training. Like Zim and those guys have said, it creates kind of a distraction.

“And apparently it’s a distraction when you’re not even the one getting the extension,” Wright continued with a smile, noting how he was being quizzed about Zimmerman’s new deal.

Zimmerman is signing his extension at age 27, whereas Wright will be 31 in December 2013, during the winter he is eligible for free agency, assuming the Mets pick up the option.

“He’s a good friend of mine, and we grew up together, so I’m really excited for him and happy for him, because that’s what he wanted,” said Wright, who played on one travel team in high school with Zimmerman as well as B.J. Upton and Mark Reynolds. “… He loves it there, and that’s kind of become our hometown team, per se. So I know that’s where he wanted to be, and they got something worked out.”

Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson was asked whether the current Nationals team, with young stars such as Stephen Strasburg, reminds him of the 1983-84 Mets, who were a couple of years away from winning a World Series.

"This club has more potential than that club," Johnson replied Monday at Nationals camp in Viera. "It just has a lot more gifted athletes. The potential I see on this club is pretty damn high. It's going to be my job to see that we play like it."

That's high praise.

The '83 Mets struggled, but in '84 the team won 90 games under Johnson. Darryl Strawberry debuted in '83, while Dwight Gooden broke into the majors the following April.