Left-hander Jon Niese was unable to pitch out of the 4th inning despite a pre-game pep talk from manager Terry Collins who challenged him to pitch his best in the biggest game of his career.
For the third straight start, Niese allowed a five-run inning including a back-breaking grand slam by Met killer Wilson Ramos off a hanging curveball.
When all was said and done Niese pitched a total of 3.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out one.
But just when it seemed things were getting bleak, it was the Mets bullpen to the rescue that combined to pitch 5.2 scoreless innings and allowed the team to comeback and complete an exciting 8-5 victory over the Nationals.
Despite leaving the 5th inning with a calf strain, Carlos Torres relieved Niese and got things started with 1.1 solid innings to contain the damage and stop the Nats dead in their tracks.
Erik Goeddel, Dario Alvarez, Hansel Robles and Jeurys Familia then combined to strike out eight batters and held the Nationals to just one hit over the final 4.1 innings of the game.
“Our bullpen saved us,” manager Terry Collins told reporters after the game. “It was a great win.”
Among the highlights was recently called-up Alvarez striking out Bryce Harper on a devastating 3-2 slider in the sixth after falling behind him 3-0. It left Harper shaking his head and talking to himself as he walked back to the dugout.
Robles was absolutely dominating, pitching a perfect 7th inning and striking out two including Ryan Zimmerman, who was caught looking at a 97 mph fastball after Robles quick-pitched him. Zimmerman glared angrily at Robles for a good long while as the Mets rookie smirked at him.
He stayed in to pitch the 8th and pitched another perfect inning and struck out two more, four total, while hitting 99 mph a few times on the radar.
“After all the work I’ve been putting in, it’s worth it to see some good results,” a gleaming Robles said after the game.
Familia finished things off with an exclamation point, striking out the side to end the game. And it was the meat of the order, Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman, all on his new lethal splitter. Familia picked up his 37th save of the year.
It was an amazing effort in a huge game where everything was on the line. Well done, guys!
