National Diasater As Far as Wildcard Goes for Mets Nasim..Now You Don't

Nationals 3 Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 80-76

Mets streak: Lost 2

L10: 4-6

WP - Jake Irvin 9-13

LP - Sean Manaea 2-4

SV - Mitchell Parker ( 1 )

Seat on the Korner: Nasim Nuñez

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.

Today’s seat on the Korner goes to the most unlikely of heroes: Nasim Nuñez. In the early days of the Mets, Ralph Kiner would invite the standout performer into the studio after a game, and if he were here today, Nuñez would have been that guest. Coming into this contest mired in a 1-for-18 slump, Nuñez stepped up in the top of the second with the Nationals leading 1-0 and Jorge Alfaro on second. After working ball one, he unloaded a 374-foot, two-run homer that ended up being the difference in the game. The seat could easily have gone to Jacob Young, whose two jaw-dropping catches—on Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez, or to Mitchell Parker, who held the Mets scoreless for 3⅔ innings. But Nuñez’s contributions didn’t stop at the plate where he was two for four; he made several defensive gems himself, cementing his selection as today’s star and earning a virtual seat on the Korner with Ralph.

Need to Know

• The Mets concluded their final homestand of the 2025 regular

  season.The Mets ended up 49-32 at home this season (including a victory at the Little League Classic).

• Today's game concluded a stretch of 16 games in 17 days The Mets went 5-11 over that stretch.

• The New York Mets announced that the team set a new, all-time single-season attendance record in 2025, welcoming 3,182,057 to Citi Field this season. The historic milestone surpasses the previous attendance high of 3,168,571 set when the ballpark opened in 2009.

• Francisco Lindor hit in his tenth straight game..Over that

  span he is batting .333 (13-39) with 13 runs, two doubles, two homers, three RBI, six walks, three steals .He has scored 110 runs this season, his

  second-most in a single season (most: 129, 2018)..Over his last 36 games dating back to August 13, has a .346 (51-147)

• Mark Vientos was ejected in the bottom of the sixth inning after first-base umpire Chris Conroy ruled that he did not check his swing. In frustration, Vientos threw his bat to the ground and was immediately shown the exit.

• The Mets defense left a lot to be desired and Francisco Lindor made a throwing error which allowed the Nationals first run to score, and Pete Alonso also made an error in the game.

• The Mets streak of not winning a game when trailing after eight innings now sits at 67 straight games.

• Mitchell Parker's save today (3.2 IP), the first of his career, is the longest save in Nationals history (2005-pres.)

• Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker had combined to give up 83 earned runs in their last 86.2 innings, yet held the Mets to 2 runs.

• Meanwhile the Reds, shutout the Cubs 1-0, with Pete Crow Armstrong looking at strike three with the tying run at second , meaning that the Mets are on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go, headed into the last week of the season.

  
  

Turning Point

The turning point of the game came as the Mets had clawed their way back from a three-run deficit, cutting the Nationals’ lead to a single run. With runners on first and second and one out, Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos stood in, threatening to swing momentum entirely in New York’s favor. That’s when Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo turned to his bullpen, summoning Mitchell Parker. Parker rose to the occasion, inducing an infield fly from McNeil before striking out Vientos to extinguish the rally. The sequence not only preserved Washington’s 3-2 lead but also served as a stark reminder of how quickly a comeback attempt can be stifled in the majors.

Three Keys

Cedric the Non-Entertainer

The bottom of the third inning offered a glaring example of why Cedric Mullins’ play on the basepaths was, quite frankly, inexcusable. The Mets came to bat down 3-0, and Luis Torrens led off with a double. Mullins followed with a fly ball to left, where Daylen Lile tracked it down but slid into the concrete wall and couldn’t secure the catch. Torrens scored easily as Brady House (the Nats third basemen who ran out to left ) throw home sailed well past the plate, and yet Mullins, seemingly oblivious to the chaos unfolding around him, ambled between first and second. Despite First Base Coach Antoine Richardson yelling for him to advance, Mullins jogged lazily to second and was eventually thrown out—though the umpires ultimately ruled “time” had been called and sent him back to first base with a "MULLINAGAIN". Even so, had he run full speed out of the box, he likely would have reached second safely before time was called, instead he was at first and was doubled up on Francisco Lindor’s line drive. This was a teachable moment crying out for accountability. A pinch runner should have been inserted immediately, Mullins should have been benched. In 1969, Gil Hodges didn’t hesitate to do this with Cleon Jones, his best hitter. Surely Carlos Mendoza could have sent the same message here, waking up a team that’s been sleepwalking while clinging desperately to the final wild-card spot.

Hacky Sacked ...

The bottom of the fifth brought one of the most jaw-dropping defensive plays of the season, and it came courtesy of Jacob Young. With the Mets trailing 3-1, Brett Baty led off and crushed a ball to deep center field—Statcast measured it at 413 feet with exit velocity of 104.6 mph. Young tracked it relentlessly, leaping at the wall and securing it in his glove… momentarily. As his glove collided with the wall, the ball popped loose, threatening to fall for extra bases. Channeling his inner Paul O'Neill, Young executed a flawless recovery, kicking the ball back up into the air and snagging it mid-flight before it hit the ground. The result was one of the most deflating, awe-inspiring catches of the season, a play that not only robbed a sure extra-base hit but also injected a jolt of energy into a sputtering defense.

 And Young was far from done: in the bottom of the ninth, he turned in another game-saving gem, robbing what would have been a game-tying home run by Francisco Álvarez, cementing his status as the defensive star of the day.

When The Lights Go Down in the City..

If the Mets somehow manage to cling to the final wildcard spot, tonight may well have been the last home game at Citi Field until the home opener on Thursday, March 26, 2026—a full 187 days from now. That opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates could represent the next opportunity for fans to see their team at home, meaning this series might have been the final Mets appearances at Citi Field for several key players. Pete Alonso, who has an opt-out clause in his contract, could be making his last New York appearance (deja vu all over again), alongside other potential free agents like Starling Marte, Jesse Winker, David Peterson, Ryne Stanek, Tyrone Taylor, and Edwin Díaz. With the postseason still hanging in the balance, every at-bat and every inning carries the weight of possibly being the final moments for these stars on the home turf fans know and love.