The Mets blew another five-run lead when they were defeated 7-5 by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night at Nationals Park.
Here are some key points…
– Christian Scot The day started efficiently in his return to the big leagues, as he held the Nationals hitless through the first 3.2 innings before Jesse Winker hit a two-out double in the fourth. The young righty showed signs of fatigue from that point on, however, as Washington scored a run in the fifth inning and poor pitching in the sixth resulted in a Luis Garcia three-run homer. Scott got another no-decision after He allowed four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out two in 5.2 innings.
– Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless inning, but with a left-hander coming up with two outs in the seventh, Carlos Mendoza changed in Jake DiekmanHowever, the left-hander failed to complete the job as he walked CJ Abrams on 10 pitches and then allowed two consecutive hits Avenue Thomas and top prospect James Hout to give Washington the lead for good. They added an insurance run in the eighth inning on Garcia’s second home run of the night against Ty Adcock.
– Mark Vientos recently told SNY’s Steve Gelbs that he wants to compete in the Home Run Derby in Texas in a few weeks, and he continues to make a very strong case. The young slugger hit a two-run homer, 435 feet, to the Nationals Park batting eye in the middle of the fourth inning. He has now gone deep six times in his last 12 games and has 11 long balls in 143 plate appearances this season.
– Francisco Lindor crushed the Mets’ third home run in the top of the fifth. Even with his incredibly slow start to the season, the superstar shortstop became the first player in franchise history to record 25+ doubles, 15+ homers and 15+ stolen bases in the first half.
– After Lindor’s home run, Washington’s pitching retired the next nine batters in a row before Brandon Nimmo walked with two outs in the eighth inning, but JD Martinez struck in an attempt to end the threat.
MVP of the match: James Wood
Wood was moved to third in the batting order in his third major league game and responded by reaching base three times on two hits and a walk.
The youngster has put in an impressive performance at the plate, reaching the ball within safe distance in all three games of this series, with his first career RBI proving to be the difference-maker in this game.
Highlights
Upcoming planning
The Mets will look to secure the series victory in the early morning finale of July 4 on Thursday at 11:05 a.m. on SNY.
Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.57 ERA) takes the mound against the 27-year-old right-handed star Jake Irvin (6-6, ERA of 3.03).
