Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (40-34) sent Jerad Eickhoff to the mound as they faced off against the Washington Nationals (38-38) at Nationals Park on Monday.

After not pitching at the MLB level since June 2019, the 30-year-old gave the Mets four shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves on June 21. However, things did not go as smoothly in his second start for the Mets as his struggles started from the get-go and continued throughout.

Eickhoff’s second pitch of the game was hit over the right field wall by Kyle Schwarber for a leadoff home run. His third pitch of the game was likewise taken deep by Trea Turner for another solo shot. His fourth pitch of the game was then smacked to right field for a double.

Eickhoff received a visit to the mound before settling down to retire the next three batters on six pitches.

Just like the first inning, Eickhoff allowed a leadoff home run in the second inning as well. Unlike the first, he did not give up back-to-back home runs in the second, but instead retired his next three batters faced on a flyout and two groundouts.

The third inning was a different story for Eickhoff. He retired Turner and Juan Soto on a combined three fastballs ranging from 90.3 mph to 90.7 mph. He then mixed in two curveballs and two changeups to get Josh Bell to ground out and end the inning.

Eickhoff started to get into a rhythm by the fourth inning. He set down the first two batters on six total pitches. After retiring eight Nationals in a row, Gerardo Parra got the Nationals back in the hit column with a double to right field. After intentionally walking Starlin Castro, Eickhoff got Paolo Espino to fly out to left field.

Eickhoff’s long ball woes continued in the fifth as Schwarber greeted him with his second leadoff homer of the game. It was the fourth home run of the game allowed by Eickhoff and gave the Nationals a 4-0 lead. Eickhoff once again rebounded well as he followed that up by retiring his next three batters faced, picking up his first strikeout of the game along the way.

Eickhoff stayed in the game for the sixth, which turned out to be a mixed bag for him. He got Josh Harrison to fly out to center field for the first out. He then allowed a double to Yan Gomes. After receiving a mound visit, he struck out Parra on three pitches.

Eickhoff followed that however, by allowing an RBI single to Castro to give the Nationals a 5-0 lead. He then promptly struck out Sam Clay on three pitches for his third strikeout of the game.

Overall Eickhoff allowed five runs on eight hits and one walk. He was able to pitch efficiently over his six innings as he needed only 74 pitches. However, his start was ruined by his vulnerability to the long ball.