Washington ? The New York Mets asked the commissioner’s office Sunday to be awarded a forfeit victory because of the previous night’s tarp fiasco at RFK, though the protest seems to have little chance of succeeding.

Saturday’s game was called with the Mets trailing the Nationals, 5-3, in the middle of the eighth after the grounds crew labored for 31 minutes to get the tarp onto the infield.

Rule 4.16 states the visiting team shall be awarded a forfeit if “the order of the umpire to the groundskeepers respecting preparation of the field for resumption of play (is) not complied with.”

The grounds crew, experiencing rain delays Saturday for the first time since the franchise relocated from Montreal, simply botched the task.

The Mets now find themselves in the peculiar position of protesting Washington’s win to Washington’s owners.

Major league baseball took over the Expos organization in 2002 and remains in control of the Nationals until a buyer is selected.

No one accused the Nationals of purposely allowing the infield to become unplayable, though Willie Randolph couldn’t help but think during the fiasco about a Yankees-Orioles game when he was a player.

In the late-1970s meeting, O’s manager Earl Weaver had the grounds crew dump all the water from the tarp by the shortstop position, forcing a rainout with the Yankees holding a lead, incensing Yankees skipper Billy Martin.