When It Rains, It Pours

Nationals 14 Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 10-20

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP -David Peterson (0-4)

LP - Cade Cavalli (1-1)

Seat on the Korner: Curtis Mead

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

On a night when the Washington Nationals lineup earned a couch on the Korner, it was third baseman Curtis Meat who would up most deserving of his own seat. The well-traveled and oft-struggling Mead had a breakout night with 4 hits including a double and a home run, 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored. He also had a vital RBI hit-by-pitch in the 4th inning (more about that below).

Need to Know

• The Mets are now 10-20 (.333) and once again have the worst record in baseball.

• The Mets are 6-11 at Citi Field this season.

• Tonight's loss guarantees a second-straight losing homestand.

• Curtis Mead is the first Nationals player with a 4-run, 4-hit game since June 30, 2021, when Trea Turner hit for the cycle on his 28th birthday.

• Today was Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen's 68th birthday. Happy Birthday Gary!

• Francisco Alvarez's 5th inning double-play grounder was his 6th GIDP this season, tying him with Alex Bregman for second place in the NL, one behind Ryan O'Hearn.

• Luis Robert Jr. missed his second straight game with lower back tightness. An MRI he took today will likely determine whether or not he goes on the IL.

• Recent DFA Tommy Pham cleared waivers and has elected free agency.

Turning Point

Turnabout must really be fair play. Just one night after the Mets pounced on some Washington Nationals 4th inning mistakes to score 7 runs in the frame, the Nationals did something quite similar.

In the bottom of the third, Juan Soto's 3rd home run of the season cut the Nationals lead to 2-1, and gave some early life to the Mets and the Citi Field crowd. That went away quickly in the top of the 4th, when the Nationals mounted a 1-out rally to knock Mets starting pitcher David Peterson out of the game. Sean Manaea entered with the bases loaded and 2 outs, and the score still a somewhat reachable 4-1. On his third pitch, however, he hit Curtis Mead on the leg, bringing home the Nats 5th run while keeping the bases loaded. Then this happened...

This was the second grand slam given up by a Mets reliever before getting an out in less than a week. More importantly though, a 5-1 deficit seems daunting to a struggling offense, whereas 9-1 might as well have been 14-2. And eventually it was.

Three Keys

Going South(paw)

Tonight was David Peterson's return to the Mets rotation since his 4-0 loss to the Dodgers on April 13th. Unfortunately for Peterson, he didn't do much to preserve his spot. After giving up 2 runs in the first inning, he retired 8 straight before things unraveled. A walk, 2 singles, and then 2 more walks (sandwiching a strikeout) did him in. In 3.2 innings tonight, Peterson gave up 7 runs (all earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks and a wild pitch, while striking out 5, on 80 pitches. The 2 runs he gave up in the first bumped his first-inning ERA up to 10.80. Sean Manaea took his place and didn't fare any better. He hit his first batter, gave up a grand slam to the second, and then a double to the third batter he faced. He pitched a scoreless 5th inning before running into trouble in the 6th (1 run) and again in the 7th (3 runs). By the time Manaea's night was done, he had thrown 73 pitches in 2.2 innings giving up 6 runs (all earned) on 7 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. If the Mets had been looking at Manaea's appearance as a possible rotation swap with Peterson, his performance did little to help his cause.

Semien Showing Life

Mets second baseman Marcus Semien went 2-3 tonight with 2 singles. It was Semien's second 2-hit performance on this homestand. He now has 3 hits in his last 4 games.

Soto Stays Scorching

The lone true bright spot in the Mets lineup tonight was Juan Soto, once again. Still DH'ing due to forearm tightness, the Mets best hitter looked no worse for wear with a double in the first inning, a solo home run in the third inning, and a fifth inning single. Soto had two opportunities to hit a triple for the cycle, and came up just a bit short with long fly outs both times.