WASHINGTON -- Ever since he left them, Daniel Murphy has been making life miserable for the Mets.Murphy homered twice, tormenting his former team yet again, and the Washington Nationals completed a three-game sweep of New York with 4-2 victory Wednesday night.Max Scherzer (9-5) cruised against New Yorks sputtering offense, allowing two hits with 10 strikeouts over 7 1/3 shutout innings. He retired 18 in a row before Brandon Nimmos single in the eighth and finished with at least 10 strikeouts for the fourth straight outing.The sweep dropped New York six games behind first-place Washington in the NL East.Murphy homered off Logan Verrett (3-5) in the second for a 1-0 lead and golfed a two-run drive in the eighth against reliever Sean Gilmartin.Rather than acknowledge any extra motivation against the Mets, Murphy simply described them as division opponents.Its just obvious he wants to beat them up, Scherzer said.Murphy is batting .428 (15 for 35) with four home runs and 11 RBI against New York. He signed a $37.5 million, three-year contract with Washington last offseason after spending his first seven seasons with the Mets and powering them into the World Series last year with a record-setting postseason.He is very familiar with the Mets, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. He has no ill feelings against the Mets, but he certainly wants to beat them.The second baseman matched his career high with 14 homers and helped Washington win its fourth in a row.I dont know, Murphy said about his power surge. They just keep going over the fence.The Mets went 23 innings without scoring before James Loneys two-run homer in the ninth off Shawn Kelley.Were just not even giving ourselves chances, manager Terry Collins said.Kelley got four outs for his fourth save. He threw a called third strike past Nimmo with a runner on second to end it.New York lost 5-0 in Tuesdays rain-interrupted matchup after dropping the series opener 11-4.I know its only June, but anytime you can sweep your divisional opponents, thats huge, Scherzer said.Scherzer walked Kelly Johnson in the second, the same inning in which Asdrubal Cabrera registered New Yorks first hit. The Mets didnt reach base again until Nimmos hit on the final pitch from Scherzer, who left to a standing ovation.Pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson singled off reliever Oliver Perez, giving New York two baserunners. Kelley, Washingtons fourth pitcher of the inning, struck out Alejandro De Aza with the potential tying runs in scoring position to end the eighth.Making a spot start because Steven Matz was pushed back a day, Verrett lost his fifth straight decision. He allowed two runs and four hits, including Murphys long drive that landed in the second deck, with four walks over five innings.Jayson Werths sacrifice fly scored Danny Espinosa for a 2-0 lead in the third.Yoenis Cespedes struck out three times against Scherzer, who lost 2-0 at the Mets on May 17 despite compiling 10 strikeouts.Obviously, you wanted to come in here and have different results, Granderson said. Youve still got a lot games to play plus a lot of games against this team and everybody else in our division.MAD MAXScherzer struck out at least 10 for the seventh time this year and the 43rd time in his career. He went 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six June starts.THE GRANDY MAN CANGranderson was a late scratch from the starting lineup one day after being removed from Tuesdays game with right calf tightness.TRAINERS ROOMMets: RHP Noah Syndergaard, who struggled in Mondays opener, confirmed he has a bone spur in his elbow. He called it pretty insignificant.Nationals: RHP Jonathan Papelbon (right intercostal strain) threw around 30 pitches during a simulated game at Nationals Park. The closer will continue his rehab at Double-A Harrisburg, where hes expected to pitch in back-to-back games starting Friday.UP NEXTMets: Matz (7-3, 3.29 ERA) faces Chicago Cubs RHP John Lackey (7-4, 3.29) on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Citi Field, a rematch of last years NL Championship Series that the Mets won in a four-game sweep.Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-7, 4.73 ERA) tries to snap a six-game losing streak. LHP Brandon Finnegan (3-6, 3.83) opens the four-game series for visiting Cincinnati. Colin White Senators Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Thomas Chabot Jersey . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-daniel-alfredsson-senators-jersey/ . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Mikkel Boedker Senators Jersey . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Jason Spezza Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Benny Snell Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown from 1 yard midway through the fourth quarter, Boom Williams broke a 43-yard TD and Kentucky held off South Carolina 17-10 on Saturday night for their third straight series victory over the Gamecocks.Inconsistent offensively in the first half, the Wildcats (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) got going after trailing 7-3 at halftime with another strong performance by their hard-charging backfield tandem. Williams rushed 15 times for 123 yards including his big run down the left side for a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter.Snell followed with nine carries for 41 of Kentuckys 65 yards on the 11-play drive, all achieved on the ground. The freshman finished with 73 yards on 16 attempts as the Wildcats won their second in a row after two tough losses.The two combined for 317 yards rushing last week against New Mexico State.Kentuckys defense preserved the lead with two big sacks on South Carolinas final possession, including Denzil Wares tackle of Brandon McIlwain for a 19-yard loss on fourth and 17. Kentucky recorded a season-high four sacks overall and held the Gamecocks (2-2, 1-2 SEC) to 268 yards.Kentucky also overcame its largest halftime deficit since rallying from 18 down against South Carolina to win on Oct. 6, 2010.Thats the way this football team needs to play, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. You cant change the past, but we can certainly change our future and push forward.THE TAKEAWAYSouth Carolina: Other than a second-quarter TD drive ending with A.J. Turners 12-yard TD run and Elliott Frys 35-yard fieldd, the Gamecocks didnt move the ball much.dddddddddddd McIlwain completed 15 of 30 passes for 177 yards in his second straight start but South Carolina managed just 91 yards rushing. We really lacked execution starting the game offensively, first-year coach Will Muschamp said. We struggled and couldnt get anything going in the throwing game. ... We just never got into sync and defensively we really struggled to play blocks up front and hold the point against people.Kentucky: Stoops midweek blasting of his defense seemed to do the trick as the Wildcats held the Gamecocks to 3 of 13 on third-down conversions and got to the quarterback. We really had to take it (the criticism) to heart, nose guard Naquez Pringle said. Seeing what we could do and accomplish, we had to finish. It was a great win.Williams continued to show durability and explosiveness with his second straight 100-yard rushing game. The offensive line yielded four sacks and Kentucky converted just 4 of 13 third-down chances but gained 351 yards. Junior quarterback Stephen Johnson held the ball too long on many snaps but completed 11 of 19 passes for 135 yards in his first start in place of injured Drew Barker (back).UP NEXT:South Carolina: The Gamecocks play the first of five home games over six weeks next Saturday against Texas A&M, seeking their first win in three meetings against the Aggies.Kentucky: The Wildcats visit defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama next Saturday. ' ' '