The New York Mets (47-40) were defeated by the Washington Nationals (53-36) by a score of 6-1 at Citi Field Saturday evening. The Mets now fall to 5 games back of the Nationals for the division lead.
Pitching:
Logan Verrett was on the mound tonight for the Mets and he did a decent job. He was filling in for Matt Harvey we learned would be lost for the year yesterday. Verrett made things a little difficult for himself in the early innings walking the leadoff batter more than once.
All in all, he went went 6.2 innings allowing five runs, while walking five and striking out three. Verrett had only allowed four runs into the seventh inning but after he walked a batter with two outs, Antonio Bastardo came in and gave up the inherited run to make Logan’s line look worse.
In the top of the third inning, with the score knotted at a run a piece, Logan Verrett walked leadoff hitter Max Scherzer to start things off. Ben Revere then tripled him home to give the Nats the 2-1 lead. Daniel Murphy followed with a single he ripped into right field to give the Nats the 3-1 lead.
Daniel Murphy struck again in the top of the fifth inning doubling home Jayson Werth with two outs to give the Nats the 4-1 lead.
The former Met All Star wasn’t done yet. In the top of the seventh inning, after Verrett had two outs and had just walked Jayson Werth, Collins went to Antonio Bastardo who left a fastball right over the plate that Murphy launched into the right center field seats to really put the game out of reach.
The home run put the Nats up 6-1. Murphy has completely destroyed the Mets this year in their seasonal matchups and judging by his in-game interview on FOX, he is relishing every moment of it.
Antonio Bastardo did come back out and pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth, while Erik Goeddel came on in the ninth and followed with another scoreless inning.
Offense:
Max Scherzer was his usual dominant self against the Mets tonight. He allowed only three hits and one unearned run.
It all started off so well when Jose Reyes kicked off the game with a leadoff walk. Curtis Granderson followed with a single and was able to advance on a throwing error to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Neil Walker followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Mets the early 1-0 lead. The Mets would not score again for the rest of the night.
Alejandro De Aza was the offensive star of the night for the Mets with two hits and a walk. That should tell you all you need to know about the Mets offense tonight.
Notes:
Noah Syndergaard (arm fatigue) and Yoenis Cespedes (strained quad) will not play in the All-Star game due to their injuries.
Curtis Granderson finished the game 2-4 with a single and a double. He is batting .424 (14-33) with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored in his last 10 games. On this homestand, Granderson is hitting .385 (10-26).
The Mets did not hit a home run in tonight’s loss, snapping a streak of 10 consecutive games with a home run dating to June 29. Additionally, the homerless game also halted the Mets 11-game homer streak at home, the fourth-longest in team history.
Max Scherzer improved to 3-3 with a 1.43 ERA in seven starts versus New York since joining the Nationals. he struck out 70 and walked nine in those seven starts and has allowed one earned run or fewer in five of those seven starts.
On Deck:
The Mets will play close out their four game series with the Washington Nationals tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field. The game has a start time of 1:10 PM. Steven Matz (7-4, 3.34 ERA) will look to close the Mets first half out on a positive note against lefty Gio Gonzalez (4-8 4.79 ERA)
