Nationals 5, Mets 4 - Nationals rain on Mets’ parade, end winning streak at seven

The Mets entered play tonight riding high after winning seven straight at home and setting a Citi Field attendance record for a seven-game series. It turns out the good vibes did not follow them to Washington DC (at least for tonight) as they fell 5-4 to the Nationals in walk off fashion. It was their third straight road loss, and it dropped them to under .500 (6-7) away from the Citi Field faithful.

Washington turned to Jake Irvin, who has historically done pretty well against the Mets. His last time facing New York (September 16, 2024), he went 7 1⁄3 innings and held the Mets to one earned run on five hits. The last time he faced them in DC, he shut them out over eight innings. And he once again had New York’s number, mirroring his September start by allowing one earned run over 7 1⁄3 innings. The Mets almost got through in the first thanks to two errors on one play by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, which allowed Juan Soto to reach second. However, following a Pete Alonso walk, both Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos were retired to extinguish the threat.

Kodai Senga took the mound for the Mets, entering play with a scoreless inning streak that had reached 18 2⁄3 innings. After a spotless first, that streak would come to an end with two outs in the second. With two outs and nobody on, Dylan Crews singled, and Nimmo inexplicably threw the ball to third instead of second, which allowed Crews to scamper to second. The mistake would prove costly, as José Tena’s single brought Crews home. Washington would extend the lead in the next inning, as Jacob Young led off the frame with a single and CJ Abrams singled him home.

Beyond that, Senga was pretty spotless. While his Ghost Fork wasn’t quite as scary as it has been in the past, he was able to limit the damage and escaped his outing with six innings of two-run ball. The right-hander gave up six hits, walked two, and struck out five, and was lucky enough to escape without a loss thanks to the team’s late-inning comeback—more on that in a little bit. Senga retired 11 straight before walking back-to-back batters in the sixth. He recovered to punch out Josh Bell to end his outing. He also did not surrender a home run in the outing to extend the Mets’ streak to 13 straight games where their starter has not give up a homer.

The Mets threatened with back-to-back singles by Nimmo and Vientos to lead off the fourth, but Jesse Winker hit into a triple play that should have never been. The replay showed that Abrams clearly trapped the ball, but the umpires missed it and, despite Carlos Mendoza’s pleas, the umpires would not convene to potentially change their minds. Francisco Alvarez, who returned to the lineup, led off the fifth with a single, but the next nine Mets would go down in order through the end of the seventh inning.

The Mets finally broke through in the eighth, beginning with Jeff McNeil’s first hit of the season—he, like Alvarez, was activated prior to the game. After Tyrone Taylor was retired, the Nationals went to their bullpen, which proved fortuitous for New York. Washington has the worst bullpen ERA in baseball at 6.69, and the Mets wasted no time getting to lefty Jose Ferrer. Francisco Lindor popped up for the second out of the eighth, but Soto singled and Alonso walked to load the bases. Nimmo made up for his earlier mistake with an infield single to drive Taylor home.

Washington turned to closer Kyle Finnegan hoping to limit the damage, but to no avail. Vientos lofted a ball down the right field line that Crews could not snag. The ball bounced past the diving Crews and went down the right field line as Vientos slid into third with a go-ahead triple. Winker grounded out to end the frame, but the damage was done.

Reed Garrett entered in the eighth and would keep the score where it was. Keibert Ruiz grounded out to first to begin the inning, and Luis García Jr. singled but was gunned down by Taylor at second for a huge out. Bell then struck out swinging to end the inning. With Edwin Díaz unavailable due to a scheduled off night, Ryne Stanek took the hill looking for his second save of the year, and he unfortunately could not come through. Crews led off the inning with a triple that hit off Soto’s glove and careened off the wall. It is a play that, while not routine, Soto should have probably made. Tena then grounded a ball past the drawn in infield to tie up the game.

After Stanek got Young to ground into a force out, Mendoza turned to A.J. Minter to keep the score where it was, and he also could not do it. He did get Abrams to ground into a force out, which meant the speedy runner would end up at first base. This would prove to be huge, as Wood grounded a single up the middle that McNeil deflected just enough to slow the ball down as it head into center. This allowed Abrams to score all the way from first and, while the Mets reviewed the play, the ruling was upheld.

With that, the Mets endured their first loss since April 16. The Mets will look to get back in the win column tomorrow with Clay Holmes on the mound.

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