The New York Mets and Washington Nationals opened a three-game series on Friday night at Citi Field in New York. Left-handed pitcher Rich Hill (6-5, 4.11 ERA) got the call for the Mets, who donned  the black jerseys once again. He was opposed by the right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino (3-4, 4.13 ERA) for the Nationals. The Mets are their fans were, no doubt, happy to see a team other than the Giants and the Dodgers as the opposition. But for all the talk of Washington and Miami being the junior varsity, it was the Mets with only four hits who looked beleaguered as they lost to the Nats, 2-1.

It was the Mets fourth straight defeat.

It was the night of the strikeout in New York  as the Mets pitching staff struck out 17 and Washington’s pitchers struck out 11 for a combined total of 28 K’s between both teams in what was an exciting pitchers’ battle to watch Friday night under the lights.

The Mets lone run came off the bat of Javier Baez in the fourth, it was a solo home run and was the only run the Mets scored Friday night.

Hill got off to a strong start in the first, allowing just a one-out single to Alcides Escobar before retiring the rest of the side. He also collected a strikeout in the inning.

Things began to unravel a bit for the lefty Hill in the third. He gave up a lead-off single to Espino and proceeded to hit Victor Robles to put two runners on. Escobar then singled and quickly Hill found himself in a bases loaded, no out situation. Hill  retired Juan Soto, on a ground out but Espino came in to score to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead over the Mets and advance Robles to third and Escobar to single. With runners still on second and third, Josh Bell then hit an RBI single to left field to score Robles and extend the Nationals lead over the Mets to 2-0.

After a mound visit, Hill collected two more strikeouts to end the inning and avoid further damage. But the Nationals had a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning, putting the Mets in another come-from-behind situation.

The Mets got a run back in the bottom of the fourth off the bat of Baez who hit a solo home run to right center with one out to bring the Mets within one run. It was 2-1 Nationals after four innings.

Both pitchers retired their sides in order in the fifth, with Hill collecting his eighth strikeout of the night.

Hill’s outing was done after the fifth inning as Luis Rojas and the Mets went to their bullpen.

Hill’s Final Line:

5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR, 4.11 ERA

Right-handed pitcher Heath Hembree (2-7, 6.09 ERA) replaced Hill on the mound for the Mets in the sixth. Except for a walk to Riley Adams, Hembree had a decent first inning of work, collecting a strikeout of Garcia and forcing a flyout and a groundout in the inning.

The Nationals then went to their bullpen as well in the sixth. Right-handed pitcher Andres Machado (1-0, 2.53 ERA) came in to replace Espino on the mound for the Mets.

Espino’s Final Line:

5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR, 4.13 ERA

Machado retired the Mets in order in just 11 pitches thrown in the sixth as the Mets’ offense remained silent, not collecting a hit since the third inning.

Rojas went to the Mets’ bullpen again in the seventh. It was right-handed pitcher Miguel Castro coming in to replace Hembree on the mound for the Mets.

Hembree’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 6.09 ERA

After giving up a lead-off walk to pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra, Castro got through the inning striking out Robles and Escobar. Nido also threw out Parra trying to steal in the inning.

The Nationals then also went to their bullpen in the seventh. They brought in the left-hander Sam Clay to replace Machado on the mound. Clay retired the Mets in order and collected a pair of strikeouts.

Machado’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.45 ERA

Jeurys Familia then got the call for the Mets in the eighth. He came in to pitch for Castro. Familia looked good, retiring the Nationals in order by way of three strikeouts.

Castro’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 3.46 ERA

Answering the Mets, the Nationals also went back to their bullpen in the eighth. It was Kyle McGowin who came on to replace Clay on the mound for Washington.

Clay’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 00 HR, 5.50 ERA

After back-to-back strikeouts, McGowin faced pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil who singled on a fly ball to left field for the Mets’ first hit since the fourth inning to try to get the Mets started with two outs in the eighth with the Mets down by one. However Nimmo popped out, stranding the Mets’ third base runner of the night and keeping the Nationals with a 2-1 lead over the Mets heading to the ninth inning.

The Mets then called on their fifth pitcher of the game to take the mound in the ninth inning. It was the closer Edwin Diaz who replaced Familia on the mound for the Mets. They also brought on Patrick Mazeika to catch the ninth inning.

Familia’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 3.55 ERA

Diaz threw well in the ninth, giving up a double to Garcia, who the Nationals left stranded. Diaz added to the Mets’ pitching strikeout frenzy, striking out three to bring the Mets’ strikeout total to 17 strikeouts recorded by the pitching staff.

The Nationals kept a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth with the Mets coming to bat looking to tie the game or win it in walk-off fashion. They had the heart of their order – Pete Alonso, Lindor, and Baez due up.

With a save opportunity at play, the Nationals called on right-handed pitcher Kyle Finnegan (4-5, 2.82 ERA) to try to close it out for the Nationals, replacing McGowin on the mound.

McGowin’s Final Line:

1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 4.08 ERA

Alonso worked a lead-off walk to start the inning and put the tying runner on base. Lindor grounded into a fielder’s choice for the inning’s first out, followed by Baez grounding into a double play to end the inning and the game as the Nationals went on to defeat the Mets 2-1 and take game one of the three-game weekend series.

Espino (4-4) got the win for the Nationals, Hill (6-6) took the loss for the Mets, and Finnegan earned his sixth save of the season.

The Mets and Nationals continue their series Saturday night at 7:10PM. It will be Tylor Megill (1-3, 4.07 ERA) on the mound for the Mets against Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.91 ERA)  for Washington.