Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (99-61) defeated the Washington Nationals (55-105) in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader 4-2. Brandon Nimmo led the Mets’ offense and drove in three of the Mets’ four runs. Jeff McNeil also went 2-for-3 at the plate to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .328. McNeil has six multiple-hit games this season and is two behind Steve Henderson for the Mets single-season record. He also firmly planted himself at the top of the NL average leaderboard with two games left.

The Mets’ offense went to work in the bottom of the second and started their rally with something that has happened too often this season: a hit-by-pitch. Mark Canha was the victim again, reaching first base when Cory Abbott hit him. It was the 28th time that Canha had been hit this season and set a new personal season high for him. After a Tomás Nido single and passed ball advanced the runners to second and third, Nimmo pulled a double down the line to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

New York kept the pressure on Washington at the bottom of the third when they loaded the bases with nobody out. The Mets, however, only scored one run in the inning. After Daniel Vogelbach struck out, Canha flew out to center field to bring home McNeil to increase the lead to 3-0.

Nimmo continued his spectacular day in the bottom of the fourth inning, launching a solo home run to increase the Mets’ lead to 4-0. It was only his third home run at Citi Field this season and his 15th of the year. Nimmo also joined Tommie Agee, Darryl Strawberry, José Reyes, and Carlos Beltrán as the only Mets to record 100 or more runs, 15-plus home runs, and five-plus triples in a single season.

Goodbye, baseball! 👋@You_Found_Nimmo | #LGM pic.twitter.com/3Wt6pDmrgq

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 4, 2022

Víctor Robles put Carlos Carrasco in trouble when he led off the bottom of the fifth with a double. The Nationals’ center fielder had to leave the game, however, when he came up lame running into second base. Riley Adams followed the double with a two-run home run to cut the Mets’ lead to 4-2. It was the second home run that Riley has hit against Carrasco this season.

Carrasco was subpar in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader. He allowed two runs and one home run in four innings of work. Drew Smith came in to relieve Carrasco in the fifth inning and ran into trouble when he allowed runners to reach the corners with one out. Smith was able to escape the inning when McNeil turned a tough double play on a ground ball hit by Luke Voit.

The Mets bullpen was lights out from the fifth inning on. David Peterson, Adam Ottavino, and Edwin Díaz combined for four scoreless innings to secure a Mets victory. Ottavino and Díaz did the majority of the work, with Ottavino recording five outs and Díaz recording a four out save. It was also the fifth time this season that Díaz recorded a multiple inning save.

With the win over the Nationals, the Mets are still alive in the National League East division race. One more Braves win or Mets loss will knock the Mets out of the race.

Player of the Game

Nimmo earned the player of the game for the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Nimmo went 3 for 4 with a home run, double, and single. The Met’s center fielder also drove in three of the Mets’ four runs.

On Deck

Taijuan Walker (12-5, 3.59 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader. In Walker’s only start against the Nationals this season, he pitched seven scoreless innings.

The Nationals will send Paolo Espino (0-8, 4.30 ERA) out to the mound to start Game 2. Espino gave up four earned runs in five innings last time out against the Atlanta Braves. However, Espino has only given up one earned run in 6 1/3 innings pitched against the Mets this season.

Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader will begin after the 8 p.m. hour. Fans can catch the game on SNY and WCBS 880.

The post Mets Lock Down 4-2 Game 1 Win Over Nats Behind Bullpen, Nimmo appeared first on Metsmerized.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

A sense of urgency is needed when the going gets tough and a division title is on the line. For the second straight game, it appeared that the New York Mets (98-60) lacked that sense of urgency, losing to the Atlanta Braves (99-59) by a score of 4-2 on Saturday night. Max Scherzer looked mortal just like Jacob deGrom before him, and the offense fell dormant after a promising first inning. The Mets came into this crucial series with the upper hand, but they now find themselves one game back of the Braves with four to play and desperately needing a win in the series finale to regain control of their destiny in the division race.

The Mets came out swinging against Braves starter Kyle Wright, as three of the first four batters reached base in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Eduardo Escobar drove in the first run of the game on an RBI groundout, picking up right where he left off after an extraordinary month of September. The Mets gave Scherzer a 1-0 lead before he took the ball for the first time.

Scherzer pitched a shutdown inning in the bottom of the first, retiring all three batters he faced. He allowed a runner to reach second base with just one out in the second inning via a wild pitch, but he induced a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat.

.@You_Found_Nimmo got it. #LGM pic.twitter.com/puu0zsya6S

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 2, 2022

Things got dicey in the third inning when Francisco Lindor made an error on a Dansby Swanson grounder, putting runners on the corners with two outs. He gave up loud contact to Michael Harris II, but Brandon Nimmo snagged the liner in center field to get the Mets out of the inning with the lead intact.

Scherzer was doing plenty of bending, and he finally broke in the fourth inning, as Austin Riley led off with a double and Matt Olson drove him in with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Scherzer was leaving a lot of pitches over the plate and not getting a lot of swings and misses, and the Braves offense capitalized by putting plenty of pitches into play.

The Mets offense went quiet after the first inning, but they bounced back in the fifth inning. Pete Alonso kicked off a two-out rally with a single, followed by a single from Lindor and an RBI single from Jeff McNeil that drove Alonso in. McNeil entered play on Saturday in the thick of the NL batting title race, and his latest big hit gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in this one.

McHITS! #LGM pic.twitter.com/xnWLNcrnpr

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 2, 2022

That lead did not last long, as the Braves continued to put good swings on Scherzer’s pitches. Swanson launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Braves on top by a score of 3-2. Scherzer managed to strike out two batters in the inning, passing Fergie Jenkins for 12^th all-time in career strikeouts in the process. However, the damage was done, and the ball was firmly in the Braves’ court.

The Braves tagged Scherzer for one more run in the sixth inning courtesy of a solo homer from Olson. Scherzer departed after 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and striking out four. He did not have his best stuff, which was never going to be sufficient against the high-powered Braves lineup.

Wright lasted just five innings, but the Mets did not fare any better against the Braves relievers that took over for him on the mound. The Mets offense went down in order in the sixth inning, and the only baserunner in the seventh came on a fielding error from Orlando Arcia.

Adam Ottavino got the ball for the seventh inning and made quick work of the Braves offense, getting help from a great defensive play by Alonso. David Peterson struck out two of the three batters he faced in the eighth inning, and Drew Smith got the final out to send the game to the ninth.

The Mets offense faced off against Kenley Jansen for the second straight night and again looked completely overmatched. The Mets started the game with a bang but went out with a whimper, putting the team’s chances at a division title on life support.

Photo by Roberto Carlo

Player of the Game: Jeff McNeil

Escobar got all of the praise (and rightfully so) for his outstanding hitting in September, but McNeil’s contributions should not be left unnoticed. He hit .337 last month, and he kicked off October with yet another multi-hit game, his fifth in his last six games. His hitting alone wasn’t enough to get the Mets over the line tonight, but his prodigious ability to make contact will continue to be crucial down the stretch and into the postseason.

Final line for McNeil: 2-for-4, RBI

On Deck:

The Mets will look to salvage a victory from this pivotal series when they take on the Braves on Sunday night at Truist Park. First pitch is set for 7:08pm ET, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. The Mets will have Chris Bassitt on the mound, while the Braves will run out Charlie Morton.

The post Mets Stumble Out of First in 4-2 Loss to Braves appeared first on Metsmerized.