Mets survive nail-biting 9th inning as they top Nationals in series-opener
The Mets have managed to salvage a few series as of late by winning the third game, but rarely have they been able to set the tone with a win in the first game.
Finally, the Mets managed to get a series-opening win Monday at Nationals Park with an 8-7 win over the Washington Nationals.
The Mets survived a tense ninth inning that saw Adam Ottavino put the first two runners on base before getting an out. The veteran right-hander entered with an 8-5 lead for the save opportunity and gave up an earned run when Jesse Winker hit a one-out single to right field to Luis Garcia. The Nats loaded the bases after Idelmaro Vargas followed Winker’s hit with a single to left and the Mets went to the bullpen for left-hander Jake Diekman, who blew a save one day prior against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ottavino hasn’t been effective in back-to-back outings this season and that trend carried over Monday.
Washington countered with Joey Meneses, who came in with a .289 career average against left-handers, and fell behind 3-0 before working the count full. Meneses popped one up to center field for a sacrifice fly to bring the Nats to within one run of tying.
Diekman rung up Drew Millas to end the game and earn his second save of the season.
Mark Vientos hit his fifth homer of the season in a 2-for-3 performance with two runs scored, Starling Marte went 3-for-5 with two runs, J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to eight games going 1-for-4 with two runs and a walk and infielder Jose Iglesias went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs.
The Mets (25-35) had contributions from just about everyone in the lineup, but it was Martinez who scored the key run in the sixth, capitalizing on inaccurate defense by the Nats. After hitting a two-out single against right-handed reliever Jacob Barnes, Marte singled to right-center field. Martinez went from first to third, testing the arm of center fielder Lane Thomas, who earlier in the night had thrown out Brandon Nimmo at third base. Thomas hit Martinez as he slid into third base and the ball rolled into foul ground.
Barnes then threw to first base to get Marte, but his throw was way off target and he threw it away. Martinez scored easily and Marte made it to second.
Right-hander Tylor Megill received his first win of the season, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked three.
While Washington (27-32) is still in a rebuilding phase, the Nats have improved since last season. They challenged the Mets by coming back nearly every time the Amazins’ scored, tying the game in the bottom of the second at 1-1. The Mets went up 3-1 in the fourth with a home run by Vientos, with the third baseman taking left-hander MacKenzie Gore 420 feet deep.
But the Nats came right back, taking three runs off Megill in the bottom of the inning.
The Mets knocked Gore out of the game in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Washington went to the bullpen for right-hander Dylan Floro. Harrison Bader, on his 30th birthday, hit a sac fly to score Martinez and tie the game at 4-4. They would score three more runs in the fifth, but it was the one in the sixth that mattered the most.
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