Young'ns lead the way as Mets cause a Washington shut down

Mets 7 Nationals 1 (Nationals Park, Washington, DC)

Mets record: 74-87

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Dedniel Nunez (2-1)

LP - Jake Irvin (2-10)

Seats on the Korner: Carson Benge and Ronny Mauricio

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.

You know when Carson Benge has a good game when Gary Cohen uses another SAT word to describe his play. His three hits, two runs scored, and his incredible catch led the way in a 5-1 victory over the Nationals.

But let's give some love to Ronny Mauricio, who homered from both sides of the plate to extend the Mets lead and put it out of reach. Mauricio missed most of the season after tearing his thumb early on.

Need to Know

• This game was moved up from a 4:07 start to a 12:37 start due to impending weather in Washington DC.

• Brett Baty made his first start of the season at shortstop today. It's the 6th position that he has started at this season. He didn't get his first chance at short until the 7th inning.

• Jonah Tong threw 87 pitches in five innings today, striking out a career high 9 hitters while giving up just one run on three hits and a walk. His season ending ERA is 3.82.

• A.J. Ewing's homer in the 7th inning was the 22nd home run that the Nationals have given up in the 7th or later which was a game tying or go-ahead homer.

• Ewing and Ronny Mauricio's back-to-back home runs in the 7th were the third pair of back-to-back homers by the 8th and 9th place hitters for the Mets this season.

• Ronny Mauricio's second homer of the game was only his second career homer as a righty, and it was oppo taco. Mauricio was the first Met to homer from both sides of the plate since Francisco Lindor did it against the Rockies last season.

• Juan Soto left the game in the 8th inning after being hit in the hand with a pitch by Richard Lovelady.

• The Mets retired 16 straight Nationals between the 4th and the 9th. Mets pitchers struck out 14 in the game.

Turning Point

Jake Irvin was cruising in middle relief, just as he's done before against the Mets. But with two outs in the 7th and two runners on, A.J. Ewing got a hanger on an 0-2 count and gave the Mets the lead for good.

Three Keys

An Aggressive Finale

I drew Jonah Tong's previous start for the blog, and the three words I used for Tong was "don't pitch scared". Now, I'm sure Tong didn't read that entry, but his coaches must have told him the same thing because he was all around the strike zone today, throwing 52 strikes out of 87 pitches.

His pitches were competitive, getting good swing and miss. And he toughened up with runners on base, which Ron Darling noted as something he needed to do during the game. Tong hit Nasim Nunez to lead off the third inning, then gave up a single to James Wood and a wild pitch to put runners on second and third. It was then that it could have gone sideways for Tong. But after a sacrifice fly* to bring home a run, he toughened up by getting Dylan Crews on a pitch on the corner for strike three.

But what I really loved was how he pitched to C.J. Abrams. While he mixed up his pitches to Crews (and most of the other hitters as his curveball was working today), he threw all high fastballs to Abrams to end the inning after he struck him out on a changeup in the first. It was smart pitching, but it was also tough pitching against a good hitting team. More than just the nine strikeouts, it was the way he got them that was such an impressive step for him.

Swoboda-ing: Now a Verb

So let's talk about that sacrifice fly*

It's not the first time Carson Benge has looked like Ron Swoboda this season. And that should make Mets fans excited for next season. He's probably not going to win N.L. Rookie of the Year, but he's had a Rookie of the Year worthy season, which is good enough for me.

The Cutting Room Floor?

I don't want to forget about what a monster home run this was by Ronny Mauricio, which followed A.J. Ewing's game decider:

And I sure as heck don't want to forget Mauricio's other home run, which came from the other side of the plate:

Every time we forget about Mauricio, he does something to remind you of his plus skills, like hit a homer from both sides of the plate, or hit a ball into the ocean, or something similar. I still think the talent is there. It's a matter of finding consistency on his side and finding a spot to play on the Mets side. I'm not sure either is attainable at this point, but his home run today should remind us all that he still has something to offer at just 25 years old.