Verlander Earns 250th Career Win, Mets Earn 5-2 Series Victory

It is unknown whether or not Sunday afternoon’s outing will be the last for Justin Verlander in a New York Mets’ uniform. Either way, he did a terrific job pushing the Mets to a 5-2 victory at Citi Field. With the win, the Mets took three of four from the Nationals. New York now owns a 50-55 record on the season.

Verlander was only able to last 5 1/3 innings, but was very effective. He allowed five hits but only one run. He also posted five strikeouts. In doing so, Verlander lowered his season ERA to 3.15. Over his last seven outings, he has allowed more than two runs only once, and has allowed one or fewer five times. This is the pitcher the Mets hoped they would be getting when they signed him in the offseason.

The win was also a milestone for the future Hall of Fame pitcher, number 250 in his illustrious career. After the game he said, “It’s a moment you kind of have to take a step back and appreciate. This is one of those for me.” It remains to be seen if he will be on the roster post-August 1 trade deadline. However, Sunday’s performance shows he can very well still be an effective piece for New York for the next year-plus.

New York, mostly, also had a very strong game offensively. Eight of the nine starters tallied a hit, with the biggest days coming from Francisco Lindor (3-for-4, HR, RBI) and Pete Alonso (2 RBIs). As a team, New York had 10 hits, however, they did leave 11 men on base across eight innings.

David Peterson threw two innings in relief, allowing one unearned run. Overall, he has been solid since his transition to the bullpen (only two earned runs across eight innings). However, with the trade of Max Scherzer, he may be returning to the rotation sooner rather than later. Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley then combined to lock the win down for the Mets. Raley struck out the side in earning his third save of the season.

A series win over the 44-62 Nationals may not seem impressive on the surface. However, entering the series with the Mets, Washington was winners of five of six, including a three-game sweep over the San Francisco Giants. It is a huge trek back into potential playoff contention, but this is a start. The Mets are five games under .500 6.5 games back of the last Wild Card spot.

Player of the Game: Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor had a very nice series and that continued on Sunday. He went 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run, and a walk. He also had a few very nice plays defensively.

In total, he had five hits in the series and two home runs. He was very strong. It has not been the most consistent season for Lindor, but in all, the full body of work reflects that of one of the best at his position this season.

Statistic of the Game: .190 Expected Batting Average

The Mets’ pitchers were terrific on Sunday. The staff only allowed one earned run and befuddled Nationals’ hitters all day. They struck out 11 and held Washington to a team expected batting average of .190. The Nationals only had six hard-hit balls.

On Deck

As has seemingly been customary for the Mets this season, the team is off on Monday before traveling to Kansas City. Game 1 of the three-game set is scheduled for 8:10 pm ET. The probable pitching matchup is José Quintana (0-2, 3.27 ERA) versus Zack Greinke (1-11, 5.49 ERA).