The New York Mets (22-17) fell to the Washington Nationals (24-16) at a rainy Citi Field, by a score of 7-1 in the second game of their three-game set.
Pitching:
Bartolo Colon just did not have his normal control tonight, struggling through 4.2 innings. He allowed three runs while walking five and striking out four. He had only allowed four walks the whole season prior to tonight’s start. Colon’s record fell to 3-3, while his ERA rose to 3.75.
Hansel Robles came in to relieve Colon and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out two.
Antonio Bastardo and Logan Verrett combined for a rough eighth inning. Two runs crossed home plate due to a hit batsmen, and three walks. Jim Henderson allowed two more runs to score in the ninth.
Bryce Harper walked four times, Daniel Murphy drove in a pair of runs, and Jayson Werth was on base five times, stole a base, and scored three runs..
Offense:
Gio Gonzalez mastered the Mets offense for most of the night, pitching through 6.1 innings while only allowing one run on five hits. Two of which came off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes, who delivered a bomb to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning for the only Mets run of the game. The homer was the 30th of his Mets career.
The team had a prime opportunity to get back into the game in the bottom of the seventh, as they had the bases loaded with one out. Kevin Plawecki and Michael Conforto though would both ground out, squandering huge opportunities to score some runs. The Mets continue to struggle with situational hitting.
Notes:
Mets pitching struggled all around with their command, allowing 11 walks on the night. The last time Bartolo Colon walked five batters in a game was more than a decade ago on April 26th, 2005.
On Deck:
The New York Mets look to take the series win tomorrow in the rubber match as Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.93 ERA) is opposed by Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.
