The Mets (43–24) took Game 1 of the series against the Nationals (30–36) with a 5–4 walk-off win in extra innings Tuesday evening at Citi Field. In a dramatic 10th inning finish, New York came from behind to secure the victory off the bat of Jeff McNeil, who doubled on the first pitch he saw and gave the Mets the win.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Griffin Canning (6-2, 3.22 ERA) got the start for New York and labored through five 1/3 innings for the Mets, allowing four earned runs on seven hits. The right-hander struck out four and walked two in an 87-pitch outing. His night was marked by early trouble, as CJ Abrams doubled to open the game and scored on a two-run homer from Nathaniel Lowe just two batters later, giving the Nats an early lead.
Canning allowed a third run in the second on another Abrams RBI double. The Mets quickly responded in the home half of the inning, when a Brandon Nimmo leadoff single and a steal set up an RBI single for Jeff McNeil. Juan Soto tacked on another run in the third with a solo homer, his twelfth bomb of the year, to make it 3-2.
Canning settled down to work into the sixth, but Abrams tagged him again in the fifth with a solo shot to push the Nationals’ lead to 4–2.
In relief, José Buttó recorded the final two outs of the sixth and the first of the seventh before giving the mound up to José Castillo. Castillo issued a walk and hit a batter but induced a double play to escape the jam. He returned for the eighth, recording one out before allowing a double and a walk to put two in scoring position. Justin Garza made his Mets’ debut on the mound, entering and striking out the next two hitters to end the threat.
The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out rally. After a walk by Starling Marte, Soto delivered an RBI double, and Pete Alonso followed with a run-scoring single to even the score at 4–4. (He was thrown out at second to end the inning.)
Edwin Díaz pitched a clean ninth to hold the Nats in check, but the Mets couldn’t break through in the bottom half, sending the game to extras. Reed Garrett tossed a scoreless 10th to set up the walk-off.
In the bottom of the 10th, Jeff McNeil dunked a double to right on the first pitch of the frame to score the automatic runner (Luisangel Acuña), sealing a 5–4 walk-off win for New York.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jeff McNeil continues to rake, going 2-for-4 this evening with a double and two RBIs. He now has a .900 OPS this year in 128 plate appearances. Is it time to start talking All-Star game for him yet?
ON DECK
The Mets’ starter for tomorrow will be David Peterson (4-2, 2.80 ERA). In his last start against the Dodgers, he tossed seven innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Jake Irvin (5-2, 4.02 ERA) will take the mound for the Nationals. In his last matchup with the Cubs, he threw five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. He dominated the Mets in a late April game.
The first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
