The Mets looked to take the series against the Nationals on Saturday. Carlos Carrasco (3-4, 5.82 ERA) took the mound for the Mets, looking to bounce back after he struggled in his last start against the White Sox. Patrick Corbin (6-11, 4.99 ERA) took the mound for the Nationals, who has struggled the majority of his time in Washington since signing his albatross contract back in 2019.

Carlos Carrasco. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Carrasco struggled right out of the gate against the Nationals. In the first inning, the Nationals drove in four runs against Carrasco. It started with CJ Abrams reaching on a throwing error by Mark Vientos. Then, two batters later, Jeimer Candelario hit a single that moved Abrams to third, who was driven in by a Joey Meneses RBI single to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. After Luis Garcia loaded the bases, former Met Dominic Smith drove in two runs with a single to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead over the Mets. Next up was Stone Garrett, who hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Nationals’ lead to 4-0 over New York.

The Nationals extended their lead in the second. Alex Call led off the inning with a single to left field and came home to score behind an RBI double from Candelario. The double extended the Nationals’ lead to 5-0 before the bottom of the second inning.

The Mets got a run back in the second. After Mark Canha got on base with a one-out single, Vientos drove a double to the opposite field to cut the Mets’ deficit to 5-1.

The Nationals scored three more in the third as Carrasco continued to labor. Luis Garcia led off with a single to center field, then two batters later, Garrett walked to put two runners on. Adams followed with a double that drove home Garcia and Garret, extending the Nationals’ lead to 7-1.

That was all for Carlos Carrasco, who struggled for a second straight start. The right-hander only lasted 2 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and eight runs (six earned). After he was pulled, Lane Thomas singled to left field to score Adams, which extended the Nationals lead to 8-1.

The Mets got another run back in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by Tommy Pham to lead off the inning. Pham has been impressive for the Mets when healthy, but with the August 1 trade deadline approaching, his time in Queens may be coming to an end.

The Mets got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Brandon Nimmo jump-started the offense, reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. Francisco Lindor then clubbed his 20th home run of the season, cutting the Nationals’ lead to 8-4.

The scoring halted until the ninth inning, where the Nationals struck for three more runs against rookie Grant Hartwig.

Hartwig hit Candelario with a pitch to open the inning. After, he allowed a line drive single to Meneses that scored Candelario to make it 9-4. Three batters later with a runner on third, Garrett singled to score Meneses, extending Washington’s lead to 10-4. Adams followed with a single of his own, giving the Nationals an 11-4 lead and putting an exclamation point on their night.

While the Mets went on to lose the game, the baby Mets showed promise in the bottom of the ninth. Francisco Álvarez and Viento hit back-to-back home runs, cutting the Mets’ deficit to 11-6. Baty followed with an opposite-field double before the Mets went on to lose 11-6.

Saturday was a bitter night overall for Mets fans. Not only did they lose 11-6, but Max Scherzer was traded before the game to the Texas Rangers. With the Mets standing at 49-55, and Scherzer and David Robertson now traded, it looks like the Mets will be sellers over the next two days.

Player of the Game

Francisco Lindor was the Metsmerized Player of the Game. Lindor went 2-for-4 on Saturday against Washington, driving in two runs and clubbing his 20th home run of the season.

On Deck

The Mets and Nationals close out their series on Sunday at 1:30 PM. In potentially his last start as a Met, Justin Verlander will be on the mound for the Mets (5-5, 3.24 ERA) against Trevor Williams (5-5, 4.47 ERA) for the Nationals.

First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. The game will be televised on WPIX 11 and can be listened to on WCBS 880.