What a baseball game.

Before the second game of the N.L. East's biggest series of the 2015 season, all the focus was on New York Mets starter Matt Harvey.

Harvey's postseason role is still unclear, but what definitely became clear on this wild Tuesday night is this; the Mets are magical again, and we're talking 1969 and 1986 magical.

Harvey faced Jordan Zimmermann on Tuesday, and neither was as dominant as they could be. Even so, Zimmermann managed to hold the Mets to one run through 5 2/3 innings, despite giving up a plethora of hard hit balls.

Harvey, meanwhile, was horrible. After allowing two runs on four singles in the first inning, Harvey gave up another run in the second. RBI singles from Clint Robinson, Ian Desmond, and Anthony Rendon gave the Nats their first three runs, while the Mets' lone run was courtesy of a David Wright solo homer in the second inning.

Until the sixth inning, the scoreboard in Nationals Park read 3-1.

After the Metsies frustratingly stranded Curtis Granderson at third base after his one out triple, Harvey came on to get his team through the bottom of the sixth. Harvey had retired seven in a row, and had reached a decent groove, but it all disappeared in a flash. The first three batters of the inning got on base with a single, a walk, and a fielder's choice that didn't result in an out. And after Wilson Ramos struck out looking, Michael A. Taylor stepped into the batters box. On the second pitch of his at-bat, Taylor smacked a base hit into center field, and then it happened.

Yoenis Cespedes just couldn't field the ball, letting it roll all the way to the wall. Taylor circled the bases to score, and instead of 5-1 Nats, it was 7-1, a seemingly unsurmountable lead for the Metsies to overcome.

Yet they overcame it the very next inning.

With Blake Treinen on for relief, it looked like smooth sailing for the Nats, with just one man on and two outs. But then, Treinen walked Michael Conforto on four straight pitches, and Wilmer Flores followed with an RBI single to get the Mets within five.

Then all hell broke loose.

Felipe Rivero came out of the Nats' pen to pitch to Juan Uribe, and he walked him on five pitches. After Curtis Granderson's RBI walk, Drew Storen entered for Rivero in a 7-3 game.

Storen's first opposing batter was Yoenis Cespedes, and on the second pitch, he rocked a bases clearing double down the field line. After allowing three runs to score on his blunder, the Mets' goldenboy got three back.

Then, Storen couldn't throw strikes. After walking Wright and Daniel Murphy, Storen walked Lucas Duda, fresh off the DL, to force in the tying run. The Mets left the seventh with a six run frame, but they needed one more to complete their second straight comeback win at Nationals Park.

And, in the top of the eighth, Kirk Nieuwenhuis stepped in as a pinch hitter against Jonathan Papelbon. Nieuwenhuis, who has spent a great deal of 2015 in the minors, rocked a fastball into the right field bleachers, generating screams of delight from the Met fans dotting the seats of Nationals Park. Somehow, the Mets had taken the lead. And just like that, they had bailed out Harvey and turned all the focus onto their hitting and grit.

Former National Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect eighth inning, and then Jeurys Familia closed it out in the ninth, inducing a heart pounding 5-4-3 double play to seal the Mets' biggest win since yesterday. The Mets dugout was having a party, and magic was in the air.

The past two games have shown how differently these teams' seasons have unfolded. Amazingly, it's the Mets who never quit, and it's the Nationals whose bullpen issues have stayed toxic since April. And, while Matt Harvey's playoff situation is still in the air, the Mets have proven that, incredibly, they can win any game at any time. New York bailed him out tonight, and he should be grateful.

Tomorrow night, the Amazins look to sweep Washington, which would give them a hefty seven game lead in the division and shrink their magic number down to 17 with just 23 games remaining. Jacob deGrom (12-7, 2.40 ERA) takes on Strasburg (8-6, 4.35 ERA) at 7 PM, and considering how crazy this series has been thus far, it's sure to be a great one.

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About the author
Elijah Ackerman
Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, but I root for New York sports teams (thanks to my Dad). I currently attend Muhlenberg College, and my favorite sports to watch and play are basketball and baseball.