Game 42 of 162
Nationals 10 Mets 3 (Nationals Park, Washington, DC)
Mets record: 20-22
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Patrick Corbin (2-5)
LP - David Peterson (1-6)
Seat on the Korner: Joey Meneses
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Washington DH Joey Meneses led a Nationals attack that saw them score in seven of the eight innings they batted. He went 4-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI. All told, the Nats racked up 15 hits, with six players having multi-hit games.
Need to Know
David Peterson, getting the start so Justin Verlander could have an extra day of rest and pitch the opener against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday, continued his ineffective ways. He was hit hard from the start --Lane Thomas ripped a double on the first pitch -- and struggled through five innings. Had the bullpen not been so overworked, he probably would have been pulled earlier. His nine hit-six run outing raised his ERA to 8.08. Peterson may find his next start at AAA Syracuse as Carlos Carrasco is scheduled to join the rotation later this week.
Tommy Hunter, whose job was to eat innings, didn't fare much better, giving up four runs in three innings.
On the brighter side, Starling Marte continued to emerge from his season-long slump, getting two hits and stealing a base. Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar also had two hits.
For the first time since 2013 , the Mets failed to hit a home run in a four-game series.
The Mets have lost 15 of their last 21 in what was supposed to be the soft part of their schedule, against Detroit, Colorado, Cincinnati and Washington. They return home Tuesday to face the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by the Cleveland Guardians.
Turning Point
After giving up a run in the bottom of the first -- again -- the Mets came back to tie and had the chance to break the game open, as they did the day before, with the bases loaded and hot-hitting Brandon Nimmo at the plate. But Francisco Alvarez inexplicably took a big lead off first and was caught napping by Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz. The pickoff ended the inning, and it was downhill from there. The Nats scored two in the bottom of the inning and continued scoring.
Three Keys
Sloppy play in the field by Francisco Alvarez -- a throwing error in the fourth -- and bad communiction between Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte in the seventh and eighth -- led to Nationals runs.
The Mets could not replicate the eight-run inning that produced their Sunday win, threatening in a couple of innings but failing to cash in with more than a single run. In other innings, they made Patrick Corbin look more like the 2018 version that landed him a big contract rather than the mediocfe hurler he has been since.
At least key players in the Met bullpen -- David Robertson, Adam Ottavino and Drew Smith -- got the day off and will be somewhat rested coming into the Rays series.
Well written!