WASHINGTON -- Yes, the Mets lost a chance to gain ground in their postseason push. Its also true they dropped two of three to the Nationals. Heres another fact: New York put itself in position for the playoffs with its recent surge, a point manager Terry Collins intends on pushing.Tanner Roark pitched seven scoreless innings and Wilson Ramos homered in the seventh inning for the games only run as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Wednesday.With one out in the seventh, Ramos hit his 21st home run deep over the center-field wall on the first pitch from Fernando Salas (0-1).New York finished 6-3 on its nine-game road trip. The Mets had won eight of 10 and were 17-6 over their previous 23 games.Entering Wednesday, the Mets were the second NL wild card, a half-game back of the Giants and a half-game ahead of the Cardinals. San Francisco and St. Louis also lost Wednesday.Weve got ourselves right where we need to be, Collins said. Yeah, todays tough when the other two teams lose. But theyre saying the same thing.Salas, who was 3-6 with the Angels, had not allowed a run in seven appearances since being acquired from Los Angeles on Aug. 31.Roark (15-8) allowed three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks, one intentional. The Nationals have won five of six.Reliever Blake Treinen pitched the eighth and Mark Melancon got the final three outs for his 42 save.Mets starter Robert Gsellman tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits with four walks.Holding the Nationals to one run for a 3-1 win in New York on Sept. 3 helped boost the rookie in the rematch.Definitely, its big, Gsellman said. It helped my confidence a lot, and hopefully will take it to the next level.New York returns home for a 10-game homestand starting Friday.Were going home in the wild-card hunt. Our fans should be excited, Collins stated. Theyve been waiting. Its the last homestand. They should be excited to come out and, you know, see what happens in these 10 games. I dont care who were playing, theyre big games. This is a big time of year.Nationals manager Dusty Baker was not with the team in the series finale because of a death in the family. Bench coach Chris Speier managed team in Bakers absence.Roark is 1-2 with a 1.27 ERA in four appearances against the Mets this season including three starts. The right-hander threw at least seven shutouts innings for a major league-leading ninth time this season.New York opened the game with back-to-back singles and loaded the bases with one out, but Roark escaped by striking out Jay Bruce and getting T.J. Rivera on a fly ball.We had a chance, Collins said. But, you know, hes good, and we didnt get it done.Washington won the season series 12-7.Daniel Murphys single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 12 games overall and meant at least one hit in all 19 games against his former team this season.MARK YOUR CALENDARMajor League Baseball released the 2017 schedule Wednesday. New York hosts Atlanta April 2.TRAINERS ROOMMets: LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder tightness), on the disabled list retroactive to Aug. 15, felt fine throwing a 20-pitch bullpen session for Single-A Port St. Lucie, Mets manager Terry Collins said. ... Noah Syndergaards turn in the rotation comes Sunday, but Collins said he prefer giving the ace extra rest. Syndergaard struck out 10 over seven innings in New Yorks 4-3 win in 10 innings Tuesday.UP NEXTMets: New York returns home to open a three-game series Friday against Minnesota with RHP Bartolo Colon (13-7, 3.27 ERA) set to face Jose Berrios (2-6, 9.27) Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Authentic Soccer Jerseys Wholesale . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. http://www.cheapjerseysnfl.net/ . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Wholesale Jerseys China . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs sent cornerback Marcus Cooper to the Arizona Cardinals for an undisclosed draft pick on Friday as they began the process of trimming their roster.The Cardinals have been trying to find a cornerback to start across from Patrick Peterson.Brandon Williams and Cariel Brooks struggled in their preseason finale against the Broncos on Thursday night. Mike Jenkins was lost to a torn ACL during camp and veteran cornerback Justin Bethel has been dealing with a lingering fooot problem.ddddddddddddCooper made six starts and had three interceptions in 2013, playing well enough to be the Chiefs rookie of the year. But he lost his starting job the following season and was unlikely to have kept his spot on the roster when it was trimmed to 53 players Saturday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '