News » nly the seventh time in franchise history.The Bengals

NEW YORK -- A series that began Thursday with the New York Mets hoping to close the gap on the Washington Nationals in the National League East will end Sunday with the Mets merely hoping to get back to where they were Thursday -- and the Nationals striving to return to where they were 12 days ago.The Mets and Nationals will close out the first half Sunday with the finale of a four-game series at Citi Field. Washington won its second straight game Saturday, when former New York second baseman Daniel Murphy went 3-for-4 with four RBI in a 6-1 victory.With the win, the National League East-leading Nationals (53-36) increased their lead over the second-place Mets (47-40) to five games. Even if New York wins Sunday, Washington will have the same four-game lead it maintained entering the series.Really excited about where were at right now, said Murphy, who belted his 16th homer of the season Saturday, two more than his previous career high set with the Mets last season. Try to finish the first half off the right way (Sunday).A win by the Nationals, meanwhile, will give them the six-game lead they had following a sweep of the Mets in Washington, D.C. on June 29. After Sunday, the Mets and Nationals have just six head-to-head games remaining, all in September.Theyre keyed up coming in here trying to open up a big lead, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Weve just got to get back (Sunday) and grind it out. Weve got one more chance to finish up and even the series, which would be a good finish for us going into the break.A pair of slumping left-handers will take the mound Sunday, when Steven Matz pitches for the Mets against the Nationals Gio Gonzalez.Matz, who will be starting for the third time on the Mets season-long 11-game home stand, is winless in his last seven starts, a stretch in which he is 0-3 with a 4.58 ERA. He took a hard-luck loss in his most recent start Tuesday, when he carried a shutout into the seventh before giving up a two-run homer to Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in what turned out to be a 5-2 defeat.Matz earned his most recent win in his lone career start against the Nationals on May 25, when he threw a career-high eight shutout innings in the Mets 2-0 victory.Gonzalez, meanwhile, is just 1-7 with a 7.66 ERA in his last nine starts. He took the defeat on Tuesday, when he gave up three runs over six innings as the Nationals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2.Fortunately for Gonzalez, he will be pitching in a place he has enjoyed plenty of success. Gonzalez is 7-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 12 career starts at Citi Field, where he allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings in earning the win in his most recent outing May 18.Gonzalez is 10-5 with a 3.04 ERA in 19 career starts against the Mets. 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Bobby Okereke Colts Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. CINCINNATI -- When the Bengals need a big play, they crumble.Thats been their offenses theme all season, and its left them in tenuous position for a sixth straight playoff berth.The fourth quarter has been their undoing.The Bengals (3-5-1) had another late meltdown on Monday night, falling to the New York Giants 21-20 .They entered the fourth quarter with a lead and wasted chances to put the game away, something thats happened repeatedly during their season.Youve got to be at your best in the fourth quarter, and we havent put it together, Andy Dalton said on Wednesday. Weve been close.Its been the most puzzling part of an offense that piles up the yards but not the points, especially when it matters most.Dalton ranks 21st in fourth-quarter passer rating at 85.2. Hes thrown only three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, all of them when the opponents went soft on defense while finishing off a game with a lead. One came in Pittsburgh, the other two in Dallas.Cincinnati has scored 40 points in the fourth quarter -- its fewest in any quarter -- and has been held to three points or fewer in six of its nine games.Against the Giants, the Bengals had the ball five times after pulling ahead 20-14 midway through the third quarter and managed only 47 yards and three first downs -- one by penalty -- the rest of the way.The reality is weve been in games at the end and just havent been able to find plays, left tackle Andrew Whitworth said.I think it can go one of two ways: You start to develop into a team that doesnt seem to find an answer, or you can turn it around and make it swing in the other direction.Theres not much time left to get it figured out. The defending AFC North champions trail Baltimore (5-4) and Pittsburgh (4-5) heading into the final stretch of the season.Theyvee got two games with Baltimore and they host the Steelers, so theres still a chance to catch up, but only if they figure out how to do a better job of protecting Dalton.ddddddddddddHe was sacked twice on the final series, when the Bengals line got overwhelmed . Dalton has been sacked 28 times, third-most in the NFL behind Indianapolis and Cleveland quarterbacks. The Bengals are on pace to allow 50 sacks for only the seventh time in franchise history.The Bengals are one of the healthiest teams in the league, so thats not been a factor in the diminished pass protection.Its hard to say whats the big difference for this team, Dalton said. The core is together.On Sunday, they host Buffalo (4-5), which leads the league with 30 sacks. A veteran line knows that it has to do better at giving Dalton time against the Bills .As youve been in this league longer, I think more of our guys are going to find that out that (opponents) start to figure you out, how you block and how you do things, and youd better have an answer for it, Whitworth said.Game notes Dalton was limited in practice on Wednesday with a sore throwing shoulder, but is expected to play against the Bills. The Bengals held a light workout coming off the Monday night game. ... G Clint Boling (shoulder), TE Tyler Eifert (knee) and WR Bandon LaFell (knee) also were limited in the offenses workouts. LB Rey Maualuga, who was inactive against the Giants because of an injured fibula, practiced on a limited basis. ... DE Wallace Gilberry had a sore calf and didnt fully practice following his first game since re-signing with Cincinnati.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '