By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK(AP) -- Tim Redding was eager to end the New York Mets'
losing streak - and he wanted to do it fast.

The right-hander pitched splendidly into the eighth inning and
New York stopped its six-game slide Saturday with a 3-2 victory
over the Washington Nationals.

Working quickly with rookie catcher Josh Thole, Redding threw
first-pitch strikes to 19 of his 26 batters in a crisp game that
took only 2 hours, 18 minutes.

"There's a couple good football games that started about 25
minutes ago. I told him, `Let's keep the pace of this game
going,"' Redding said.

Jeff Francoeur and Daniel Murphy supplied the offense for the
Mets, who won for the second time in 12 games. They avoided
their longest skid since dropping 11 straight Aug. 28 to Sept.
8, 2004, according to STATS LLC.

"That was a nice win," Francoeur said. "We needed that real
bad."

Redding (3-6) outpitched left-hander John Lannan, who grew up in
nearby Long Beach and tossed complete games against the Mets the
previous two times he faced them this season - including a
shutout.

Lannan (9-12) was on his game again, needing just 74 pitches to
get through seven efficient innings. But the Mets scored twice
in the seventh to snap a 1-all tie, taking advantage of a
defensive mistake by rookie Ian Desmond, who was playing his
first professional game in the outfield.

Desmond initially broke in on David Wright's liner to right,
leaving him helpless when the ball sailed over his head for a
leadoff double.

"That's a tough play - the line drive right at you," Desmond
said. "People have been talking about it for years and years,
and it is the hardest play. But it should have been caught."

Normally a middle infielder, Desmond had to borrow an
outfielder's glove from teammate Justin Maxwell.

"If I had it to do over, I might not send him out there in that
inning," Washington manager Jim Riggleman said. "It was a risk.
It backfired."

Francoeur followed with his second double of the game, putting
New York ahead, and moved to third on Fernando Tatis' fly to
right. Francoeur scored his second run of the day on Murphy's
RBI grounder, which scooted past first baseman Adam Dunn for a
two-base error.

Francoeur is 19 for 40 (.475) in his last 10 games. He's also 10
for 19 with six RBIs in his career against Lannan.

"I feel good. I feel confident," Francoeur said. "I'm a
happy-go-lucky guy and I'm trying to keep this clubhouse that
way. It's a tough season."

Redding, who yielded only a bunt single through the first six
innings, was lifted after Josh Bard's leadoff double in the
eighth.

An ugly throwing error by reliever Sean Green cut it to 3-2, but
Pedro Feliciano retired Dunn on a grounder with runners at the
corners to end the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in
38 chances, helped by Luis Castillo's diving play at second
base. Desmond struck out to end it.

After losing 1-0 to Philadelphia's Pedro Martinez in his
previous start, Redding faced the minimum through 5 2-3 innings
before Lannan's walk in the sixth. He improved to 3-0 in his
career against the Nationals, the team he pitched for the past
two years.

"Those guys are putting runs on the board," Redding said. "I
know they've been struggling lately, but you can't take them
lightly. They've got some thump."

Redding also singled for his second hit this season. When he
came out, he received a warm ovation from the crowd of 37,906 on
a beautiful afternoon.

"Good off-speed stuff, hit his spots with his fastball, threw
inside. He had it all going," Riggleman said.

Dunn tied it at 1 in the seventh with a single, his 100th RBI.

Francoeur hit a leadoff double in the second, advanced on Tatis'
sacrifice and scored on Murphy's single over a drawn-in infield.
Lannan had gone 19 innings against the Mets without allowing an
earned run dating to a 5-2 loss May 25.

NOTES: The first six innings were played in 74 minutes. ... Mets
CF Carlos Beltran was rested. ... Before the game, Riggleman
explained his decision to start Desmond in right. "It's about
getting his athleticism in the lineup," the manager said. "We're
last in the league in defense, so there's no wrong answers.
We've got to try everything." Riggleman also said he wanted to
get Pete Orr a start in Desmond's spot at second base to keep
Orr sharp. Elijah Dukes was the odd man out in the outfield.
Dukes had reached base safely in his last 20 games, batting .381
during that stretch.