Mark Vientos Thrives In Mets’ 10-7 Loss To Nationals

Saturday evening at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the New York Mets lost 10-7 to the Washington Nationals after holding a lead going into the bottom of the seventh. John Curtiss took the mound for the Mets, replacing Kodai Senga, who was scratched after he injured his finger in between starts.

The Mets were the first team to score in the heavily offensive matchup . Tim Locastro opened the game with a single to center field and advanced to third base after Brett Baty singled. Then — with runners on the corners and Daniel Vogelbach up to bat — Locastro scored on a passed ball allowed by Keibert Ruiz to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

With the Mets up by one, Curtiss — who is fighting for one of the remaining spots in the Mets’ bullpen — took the mound in the top of the first. He struck out two batters over his only inning of work, raising his spring strikeout total to eight over four innings. Curtiss has yet to allow a run in spring training and continues to fight his way onto the opening-day roster.

After a scoreless effort behind Curtiss, the Mets’ offense added another run in the bottom of the second. With DJ Stewart on third and Tomás Nido on first, Jose Peraza came up to the plate. He grounded out to third base to drive in Stewart, increasing the Mets’ lead to 2-0.

However, the Nationals wasted no time and responded quickly to the Mets’ offensive barrage. T.J. McFarland — who relieved Curtiss — found himself in early trouble after allowing a single to Luis Garcia and a walk to Jeter Downs. Matt Adams capitalized on the opportunity, doubling to the opposite field to tie the game at two.

Both offenses traded outs until the Mets retook the lead in the top of the fifth. Facing Thad Ward, the Mets loaded the bases behind two walks and a single by Vogelbach. Stewart — who already recorded a hit in the game — came up clutch, driving in two runs with a single to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. With runners on third and second after the Stewart single, Mark Vientos added two more runs with a single of his own to give the Mets a 6-2 lead.

The Nationals responded quickly once again, adding two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth. Facing Zach Greene — who has struggled with the Mets in spring training after being picked up in the Rule 5 Draft, — CJ Abrams reached second base after he singled and stole a base. After Alex Call walked, Ruiz doubled to left field to advance Call to third and cut the Nationals’ deficit to 6-3. The Nationals didn’t stop there, getting another run before the end of the inning when Garica grounded-out to Ronny Mauricio to further cut the deficit to 6-4.

With newfound momentum, the Nationals kept adding on in the bottom of the sixth. Adams hit his second double of the game off David Griffin, setting the stage for the bottom of the Nationals’ lineup. Leonel Valera followed Adams with a double of his own, cutting the Mets’ lead to 6-5.

The Mets added their last run of the game in the top of the seventh behind the bats of their top prospects. With Lorenzo Cedrola on first base, Vientos doubled down the line to set New York up for another run-producing inning. Alex Ramírez got the job done, grounding out to second base to score Cedrola to give increase the Mets’ lead to 7-5.

Facing a two-run deficit, the Nationals became their comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Call began the inning with a single, advancing to second after stealing the base and then to third on a fielding error by shortstop Diego Mosquerea. With runners on the corners, Garcia cut the Nationals’ deficit to 7-6 by grounding out to first base.

Now down by one run, the Nationals took over for good in the bottom of the eighth. Stone Garrett singled up the middle with one out in the inning, setting up the Nationals’ big inning. Jacob Young and Armando Cruz followed two consecutive doubles, giving the Nationals an 8-7 lead. With Cruz standing on second, Trey Lipscomb homered to left field to increase the Nationals’ lead to 10-7.

The Mets had a couple of runners reach base in the top of the ninth against Matt Cronin but failed to score in the inning. The final score read 10-7 in favor of Washington. José Chacin was charged with the loss for the Mets after allowing four earned runs in one inning of work. His ERA in spring now sits at 60.75.

Player of the Game

Vientos had a stellar game in the Mets’ 10-7 loss to the Nationals. The Mets’ top prospect went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Vientos is hitting .333 in spring training with two home runs and a .959 OPS. He is fighting for an opening-day roster spot but is currently blocked by Darin Ruf and Tommy Pham.

On Deck

The Mets’ next game is Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays. The game is in Port St. Lucie and will take place at 1:10 PM ET. The starters for Sunday’s game are projected to be Carlos Carrasco and Luis Patiño. Fans can catch the game on WPIX, WCBS 880, and WDAE.