Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (85-48) lost in shocking fashion to the Washington Nationals (45-87) tonight at Citi Field. The Mets were only able to score one run off Patrick Corbin, who has been one of the worst qualified starters in MLB. To make matters worse, Max Scherzer came out of the game in the fifth inning due to fatigue in his left side. The Mets starter missed seven weeks earlier in the season when he strained his left oblique.

The night did not start out great for Scherzer. In the bottom of the first inning, Luis García pulled a fastball over the rightfield fence to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

After an easy second inning, Scherzer fell into trouble in the third. With one out in the inning, CJ Abrams singled to centerfield, and Lane Thomas reached first base on a walk. The Mets were then able to escape the inning unscathed behind a smart defensive play. Francisco Lindor let a short fly ball hit by García drop and threw the ball to second to force out Thomas, which Jeff McNeil then threw to third base where Abrams was tagged out.

In the bottom half of the third inning, the Mets struck against Corbin. Eduardo Escobar started off the inning with a bang, annihilating a slider 432 feet to tie the game 1-1.

Scherzer settled into a groove for the fourth and fifth inning, setting down all six batters in a row on three strikeouts. That would be all for the Mets starter, however, after he was pulled from the game due to fatigue in his left side. Scherzer struck out five batters in five innings. The right-hander only threw 67 pitches.

The Nationals threatened once again in the top half of the sixth. Tommy Hunter, the first reliever into the game for the Mets, gave up back-to-back hits to Thomas and García after recording the first out. With runners on second and third, Hunter was able to come up clutch for New York. The right-hander struck out Joey Meneses with a high fastball and then got Luke Voit to ground out to third base on a first-pitch curveball.

The game would stay tied 1-1 through seven innings. After the Escobar home run, the Mets did not record a hit against Corbin. The Nationals starter was brilliant tonight, pitching seven innings behind five strikeouts. Corbin came into tonight’s game with the most hits and earned runs allowed in MLB

New York’s bullpen would finally falter in the top half of the eighth inning. After scoreless outings from Hunter and Joely Rodríguez, Adam Ottavino hung a slider to Thomas to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead. The home run ended a seven inning scoreless streak for Ottavino.

The Mets would threaten the Nationals in the bottom half of the eighth. Lindor would come up to the plate with two outs, and runners on second and first. The Mets shortstop was not able to get the job done, popping up a fastball to Abrams to end the inning.

In a night dominated by pitching, the Mets bullpen imploded in the ninth inning. Adonis Medina, in his first appearance since being called up in September, gave up five runs on five hits to Washington. The right-hander left after only recording one out and saw his ERA balloon to 6.08 on the season.

Mets manager Buck Showalter then called upon Bryce Montes de Oca to finish the top of the ninth inning. In his MLB debut, Montes de Oca displayed his 100 MPH sinker. The Mets reliever was also solid in his first outing, striking out Meneses for his first MLB strikeout while giving up no runs.

The Mets would not put up a fight in the bottom half of the ninth inning. Ex-Mets reliever Erasmo Ramírez set down the Mets 1-2-3 to seal the victory for Washington. This was only the tenth win for the Nationals against NL East opponents in 2022.

Postgame, Showalter did sound optimistic that Scherzer would be able to make his next start.

Player of the Game: Eduardo Escobar

Escobar was the Mets player of the game for a second consecutive night. The Mets third baseman hit a solo home run against Patrick Corbin, which ended up being the only run scored for New York.

Escobar’s final line: 1-for-2, HR, BB

On Deck

The Mets will look to win the series against the Nationals tomorrow at Citi Field. Carlos Carrasco will go to the mound for New York. This will be his first start since straining his oblique in Atlanta on August 15. The Nationals will send Erick Fedde to the mound tomorrow. In Fedde’s last start, he gave up six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Oakland Athletics.

The final game of the series will start at 1:40 p.m. at Citi Field. The game will be available on SNY and 880 WCBS.