The New York Mets (26-19) were defeated by the Washington Nationals (28-18) by a score of 7-4 on Tuesday night in DC.
Pitching:
Matt Harvey started for the Mets in arguably his most important regular season start in his career. He walked the leadoff hitter Ben Revere on 5 fastballs, after which the nail biting ensued before Jayson Werth grounded into a 1-6-3 double play and Bryce Harper grounded out to end the inning.
Matt pitched well until one out in the 4th inning, when right handed hitters Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon crushed back-to-back solo home runs into the left field seats to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead. Both home runs came on change-ups. The inning ended without incident, but the big test was, could the Dark Knight buckle down and get the job done next inning?
Unfortunately, no.
Ben Revere led off the 5th with a double to center field, and Jayson Werth followed up with a base hit to left. Bryce Harper then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Revere, making it 3-1 Washington. Daniel Murphy then absolutely demolished a baseball into the second deck, extending the Nationals’ lead to 5-1. I’ve been watching Daniel Murphy for a long time, unfortunately, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hit a ball farther. Harvey then retired the next two batters with Asdrubal Cabrera‘s help on a spectacular 1-6-3 putout to end the inning.
Harvey’s final line: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 HR. His ERA now sits at 6.08 for the season.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the 6th and pitched a clean inning, thanks to an inning-ending spectacular catch by Yoenis Cespedes.
Antonio Bastardo came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th, but quickly gave up a rare home run to Ben Revere, his first of the season and only his 5th of his career. He then retired Werth and Harper before allowing a base hit to Daniel Murphy. He then struck out Ryan Zimmerman to end the inning.
Jim Henderson came in to pitch the 8th, and after striking out Anthony Rendon, Wilson Ramos hit a home run to left-center field, the Nationals’ 5th home run of the day.
Offense:
Stephen Strasburg was perfect until one out in the 4th inning, when Asdrubal Cabrera rocketed a solo home run down the right field line. Yoenis Cespedes followed that up with a base hit, but nothing else would come of that inning.
He kept cruising until the 7th inning, when Yoenis Cespedes led off with a double down the left field line. Neil Walker then singled to left, putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Eric Campbell then grounded into a fielder’s choice 6-4 putout, scoring Cespedes to make it a 5-2 game. Kevin Plawecki then walked, putting runners on first and second with one out, bringing Ty Kelly to the plate.
A great battle ensued, with Kelly seeing 9 pitches before striking out on a fastball. Terry Collins then did something fantastic. With Strasburg at 108 pitches and the Nationals’ lone lefty warmed up in the pen, Terry put lefty-killer Juan Lagares up on deck, figuring Strasburg was at his pitch count. He was right, as Dusty Baker brought in lefty Felipe Rivero. Unfortunately, Lagares struck out to end the inning, leaving two runners on.
Shawn Kelley came in to pitch the 9th inning with a 7-2 lead, entering the game with a 0.00 ERA. After Yoenis Cespedes flew out, Neil Walker walked before Eric Campbell lined a two-run home run down the left field line, trimming the Nationals’ lead to 7-4. Sorry Shawn, no more perfect ERA.
Kevin Plawecki then struck out, bringing Ty Kelly to the plate, who grounded out to avoid the golden sombrero (0-4 today, 3 Ks) in his MLB debut and end the game.
The Met struck out 15 times in the game, 11 of them against Strasburg.
Fun Facts:
Happy 43rd birthday Bartolo Colon!
Ty Kelly was leading all levels of the Minor Leagues in batting average (.391) and on base percentage (.478) before being called up. He was born on the same day as Stephen Strasburg, and they were taken in the same draft.
Bryce Harper is now 1-for-24 against Matt Harvey in their careers.
Ben Revere‘s home run snapped a 16 1/3 scoreless inning streak for the Mets bullpen.
Since joining the Mets last season, Cespedes is tied for the major league lead in home runs (32) with Chris Davis and Khris Davis. How ’bout that.
Jackie Bradley Jr. now has a 28-game hitting streak, half way to 56.
On Deck:
The Mets will send Steven Matz (6-1, 2.81 ERA) to the hill to face off against Nationals’ starter Tanner Roark (3-3, 2.89 ERA) Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 PM ET in Washington DC.
