WASHINGTON – With its season spiraling into the abyss just over a week ago, it was fair to wonder if the Mets would sniff out .500 again this year.
This mediocrity benchmark probably won’t take them to the playoffs, but it’s often the first step to looking like a team with opportunities. The Mets returned on Friday night .500, surpassing Edwin Diaz’s first save in six weeks to beat the Nationals 6-2 in 10 innings.
Pete Alonso’s single RBI, 10th against Austin Voth, took Francisco Lindor, the second baseman’s automatic runner, with the first step. Alonso’s success sparked a “Let’s go Mets” song behind the excavation of third base in the National Park, where a collection of orange and blue fans helped visitors feel at home. . Those standing ovations intensified with Kevin Pillar’s double, which extended the Mets ’lead. Jonathan Villar delivered a simple RBI that put the Mets ahead 6-2, before Jeurys Familia got three outs.
“I just think sometimes it takes a whole team to win and I feel like we did,” Alonso said.
Diaz had recorded nine consecutive stops since his last stop, on July 19 in Cincinnati. He came in with an ERA of 1.13 in that stretch, with 23 attacks in 16 innings.
Juan Soto started the comeback against Diaz in the ninth in a hurry, raising the first shot from the right over the fence of the left field to push the Nationals to 2-1.
Diaz recorded an outing before walking Ryan Zimmerman on four throws and allowing Riley Adams to explode as he eluded Brandon Nimmo’s stretched diving glove. The ball rolled behind Nimmo and was recovered by Michael Conforto. The throw of Javier Baez’s relays on the plate caused a collision between Andrew Stevenson, the pinch runner, and receiver Chance Sisco, with the safe runner. Sisco was removed from the game by the collision and replaced by Patrick Mazeika. After the delay, Diaz recovered to get the last two outings (with the winning run at third base) and send the game to additional innings.
“We had time to chat a bit [with the delay] i [Diaz] he was under control, “said manager Luis Rojas.” He knew what he wanted to do with the batsman and the boy who was following him. It was a good sign that he had good beats and that he was under control and he was confident he would get out of the situation. “
Against the NL East, the Mets won their sixth straight game (including a suspended game against Miami that is officially recorded as an April win). The potential party will continue with four additional games against these naked nationals to conclude the Labor Day weekend. This show includes a Saturday double game at Nationals Park: A Game is the makeup for the first series of the season that was postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak among the Nationals.
The Mets, who moved four games from the Braves to the NL East vanguard, fell to .500 with a loss to San Francisco on Aug. 16 and had stayed below that level since next day. It was six games below .500 with a defeat against the nationals who started their last championship, but have led the table ever since.
“Every game is really huge at this time of year,” Alonso said. “You can’t make the playoffs if it’s below .500, so it’s a good move.”
Rich Hill, at his best start since the Mets acquired him a week before the trade deadline, threw six closing innings in which he allowed three hits and two four-point runs. Seth Lugo and Aaron Loup fired a goalless draw before the Nationals rallied against Diaz in the ninth.
Conforto’s RBI single in the second gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Baez doubled with a single start before Conforto reached a line away from the shoulder of pitcher Sean Nolin who bounced to the field to get a 1-0 lead. The double that followed Pillar put the runners in second and third place, but Nolin attacked before Hill withdrew.
Alonso delivered a RBI triple to two in the third that extended the Mets ’2-0 lead. Nimmo walked and, after Lindor retired, Alonso hit a ball to the right that overtook Soto. While Soto chased the ball, Alonso raised it to third base for his second triple of the season.
“Right now we’re playing a really good baseball good,” Rojas said. “The bats that are living right now are the biggest difference right now compared to some bad stretches we’ve had during the season and the bad stretch we’ve had in August.”