The Mets returned home to Citi Field to take on the Washington Nationals for a three-game series. They swept the series, which puts them in a virtual tie for the last Wild Card spot with the San Diego Padres. They technically control their own destiny, with a .001 winning percentage lead over the Padres. Given the ups, downs, and dramatics, this is a great place for the Mets to be as the All-Star break quickly approaches. Kudos to the players, as well as manager Carlos Mendoza for keeping the team together and being a steadying force throughout the first half of the season.
Here are the rundowns of the games vs. the Nationals:
Game 1: Mets 7, Nationals 5
The Mets started the series with the Nationals off with a bang, jumping out to a big lead behind a gem from Jose Quintana, and holding on for the two-run victory. Two All-Star snubs on the Mets roster were the power sources from the plate.
Six of the seven runs the Mets scored were driven in by the top of their lineup. Lindor continues to excel from the leadoff spot. He was three for four with a walk and three RBIs. His second inning single got the Mets started with a 1-0 lead, and his two-run home run in the sixth extended the lead to 6-0 at the game. Nimmo, out of the two hole, was one for five, but the one hit counted. His three-run home run in the second inning made the score 4-0. Jeff McNeil drove in the other Mets run with an RBI double in the eighth.
On the mound, Quintana was masterful for the second straight start, both against the Nats. In his last start, in Washington, Quintana gave up four hits over seven shutout innings. He repeated the seven shutout innings in this start but only gave up one hit. He walked one and struck out five via 103 pitches. With the win, his record moved to 4-5 and his ERA stands at 3.91. The bullpen, as it has on many occasions this year, made it quite interesting over the last two innings. Adam Ottavino relieved Quintana and lasted only 0.1 innings. He was charged with two runs on two hits (including a two-run homer by Ildemaro Vargas), raising his ERA to 5.03. Next up was Dedniel Nunez, who got out of the eighth. Garrett started the ninth and it is safe to say he’s returned to Earth after a tremendous start to the season. While he recorded two outs, he also gave up a two-run home run of his own and was charged with the fifth run that scored on a wild pitch by Edwin Díaz. Garrett was charged with three runs over his 0.2 innings, now carries a 3.64 ERA and has since been placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Diaz picked up his ninth save.
For the Nationals, it took a while for the offense to get going, but scored five runs over the final two innings against four different Mets relievers. Keibert Ruiz and Vargas each delivered two-run home runs, and Jacob Young scored the final Washington run of the game on Diaz’s wild pitch in the ninth.
Ironically, the Nationals used less pitchers in this game than the Mets did. Jake Irvin started for Washington and gave up six runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. The loss evened his record at 7-7 and raised his ERA to 3.13. Jordan Weems came on in relief and tossed the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Game 2: Mets 6, Nationals 2
OMG, Jose Iglesias (Candelita) comes through again for the Mets in the clutch, continuing his story book run with the Mets that has seen the journeyman turn into a regular contributor to the Mets, and a recording artist to boot. Nimmo continued his power surge, Luis Severino was (mostly) solid, and the bullpen came through for the Mets.
Iglesias’s big day resulted in a three for four with two runs and two RBIs. Nimmo’s home run in the first, his 16th of the season, started the scoring and put the Mets out to an early lead. Mark Vientos had an RBI double among his two hits, and the other Met with an RBI was Tyrone Taylor (two hits). Alonso also had a two-hit game. With the controversies swirling around his cleats, Martinez went one for four but struck out three times.
Mendoza continues to stretch the starting pitchers more, given the state of the bullpen. Severino pitched into the seventh in this game, finishing with 6.1 innings. Over the 92 pitches he threw, the Nationals produced two runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Of more consideration, Severino failed to backup home on an errant throw in the fourth inning which allowed the Nationals second run to score. The recently maligned bullpen chipped in 2.2 innings of shutout, one-hit baseball. Jake Diekman and Danny Young did the honors to get to the ninth, where Jose Butto picked up the first save of his career.
The top three hitters of Washington’s lineup went a combined zero for nine. Juan Yepez had the only RBI for the Nationals. Yepez also struck out twice, as did James Wood. Luis Garcia Jr. contributed a double.
Patrick Corbin started for the Nationals. He went five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. With the loss, his record on the season is now 1-9 and he is sporting an ERA of 5.57. The bullpen trio of Derek Law, Dylan Floro, and Jacob Barnes went the final three innings, giving up two runs.
Game 3: Mets 7, Nationals 0
The Mets completed the sweep over the Nationals, and in dominant fashion. Facing a tough lefty in Mackenzie Gore, the red-hot Nimmo gave the Mets control early, and David Peterson was solid on the mound to get the well-deserved win. This was the Mets first shutout victory in 94 games.
The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning behind a bases clearing double by Nimmo that drove in three. Nimmo’s career high in RBIs in a season is 68, and he currently has 62 this year and is not yet to the All-Star Break. Martinez was three for three with an RBI, and Alonso, Vientos, and Bader all contributed an RBI each.
On the mound, Peterson was great, going six shutout innings, giving up four hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts. Newly acquired Maton had about as good as a first appearance as one could. He went through a scoreless seventh in 10 pitches, striking out two. Young and Nunez split the eighth, and Ottavino had the honors of finishing the sweep with a scoreless ninth.
Lane Thomas was about the only member of the Nationals lineup to have success in this game. His two for two performance represented one-third of the total Nats output of hits. Thomas also walked twice.
Gore pitched a scoreless four innings to start the game before the Mets broke through in the fifth. His final line of the day was 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Following Gore was Floro (one charged run in 0.1 innings), Hunter Harvey (scoreless inning), Robert Garcia (scoreless inning), and Kyle Finnegan (two runs in one inning).
Looking Ahead
With the Mets now controlling a Wild Card spot, they welcome the Colorado Rockies to New York for the final series before the All-Star Break. Due to pitch for the Mets are Sean Manaea, Christian Scott, and Quintana. The Rockies enter the series at 33-61, which is 22.5 games behind first place Los Angeles in the NL West, and 15 games behind the Mets for the final Wild Card spot.
Stats by espn.com
**Are you interested in sports betting? If so make sure to use our promo code below where you can get your deposit matched (up to $1000), use promo code Sportz***
***Have you tried Dubby?? Are you looking for a Pre-Workout??
Use our promo code : WeLikeSportz for 10% off!
WE LIKE SPORTZ SHOW 
Leave a comment