WASHINGTON — Even on a day they took an eight-run lead, the Mets couldn’t declare independence on having to sweat out the final inning.
If there was a bright side for the Mets, Francisco Rodriguez got a shot at redemption after his implosion a day earlier.
“That’s the best thing that could happen,” Rodriguez said after getting the final three outs of the Mets’ 9-5 victory over the Nationals. “They gave me an opportunity to go out there and shut the door after the embarrassing performance I had [Saturday]. I just wanted to go out there and redeem myself.”
Rodriguez ended the 3-hour, 49-minute marathon by getting Roger Bernadina on a sharp grounder that Ike Davis gloved and flipped to Rodriguez for the final out. Rodriguez earned save No. 20 and the Mets left town with a split of their four-game series.
It should have been easy after the Mets raced to an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning, but nothing has been simple for this group lately.
Hisanori Takahashi (7-3) couldn’t record an out in the sixth inning, forcing manager Jerry Manuel to place the game into the hands of his bullpen way too early. After Bobby Parnell allowed consecutive singles to Christian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman with nobody out in the ninth — putting the tying run in the on-deck circle — Rodriguez was summoned. Elmer Dessens, Pedro Feliciano and Ryota Igarashi preceded Parnell.
A day earlier, Rodriguez allowed three runs in the ninth in the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Nationals. This time he retired all three batters he faced.
Manuel said he received word from the bullpen that Rodriguez made an adjustment to his delivery — a flaw the righty and pitching coach Dan Warthen had seen on tape — but the manager was intent on giving the ball to his closer regardless.
“I’ve seen him come in and out of stuff, so I wasn’t too concerned with [his mechanics],” Manuel said. “I was just concerned I had to use that many guys in a nine-run game.”
Exhausted, the Mets will begin a six-game homestand against the Reds and Braves heading into the All-Star break after finishing a 3-4 road trip that included a stop in Puerto Rico to face the Marlins. To the Mets, it seemed like more than seven days away from home.
“It felt like a two-weeker, no question,” said Jason Bay, who finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs. “I guess considering where we were at, we’ll take 3-4 and go home.”
Takahashi rebounded from an awful start in Puerto Rico by allowing three runs on five hits over five-plus innings yesterday. With the Mets leading 8-0 in the sixth, Takahashi surrendered a three-run homer to Zimmerman. After Adam Dunn singled, Manuel summoned Dessens, starting the bullpen carousel.
The Nationals got a run in the seventh against Feliciano and one in the eighth against Igarashi.
Davis smashed a two-run homer against Craig Stammen (2-3) in the third, and the Mets extended their lead to 8-0 an inning later, when Bay delivered a two-run single and Jeff Francoeur followed with an RBI double. Bay’s two-run triple in the first inning got the Mets started. Angel Pagan’s RBI single in the second added another run.
Manuel liked the team’s resiliency after suffering a 10th walk-off loss of the season on Saturday.
“We’ve just got to settle the pen,” Manuel said.
“The pen has to get settled and be clicking and I think the walk-off losses will subside or become less of a factor.”
mpuma@nypost.com
