Game 40 of 162
Nationals 3 - Mets 2 (Nationals Park, Washington, DC)
Mets record: 19-21
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP – Hunter Harvey (2-0)
LP – Dominick Leone (0-1)
SV – Kyle Finnegan (8)
Seat on the Korner
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
The Nationals shortstop was 2-for-3 with his third home run and 2 RBI. He gave Washington a 2-1 lead with a two-out ribby single in the 4th inning and snapped a 2-2 tie in the 7th inning with a solo home run.
Need to Know
*The Mets are 5-14 in their past 19 games. They've been held to three runs or fewer in 8 of their past 10 games.
*The game was restarted in the top of the 3rd inning after play was suspended Saturday because of rain and unplayable field conditions.
*The Mets had men on second and third and one out when the game restarted. Brandon Nimmo hit the first pitch Sunday for a SAC Fly, tying the game 1-1
*Brett Baty ended a 0-for-16 skid with a pair of hard-hit singles in four at-bats.
*Mets starters have an 8.10 ERA in the first inning this season after Joey Lucchesi allowed one run in the bottom of the first.
*Former Met Dominic Smith hit into a bases-loaded double play to end the 1st inning. Smith was 2-for-4 and is now hitting .271 this season.
*Stephen Nogosek picked up for Lucchesi in the 3rd inning and pitched three innings, allowing one run and two hits.
*At least there was some good news on the health front Sunday:
Turning Point
After the Mets tied the game 2-2 on a Jeff McNeil SAC Fly in the top of the 7th inning but left the go-ahead run on base, Abrams led off the bottom of the inning and crushed a Dominick Leone high fastball into the seats in right center.
3 Keys
It’s not often you see a pitcher start a game and be demoted to the minors before it’s completed. But such was Joey Lucchesi’s fate. He pitched the first two innings Saturday (one run, four hits) before the game was suspended and then was sent to Syracuse so the Mets could recall reliever Dennis Santana (who pitched a scoreless 8th inning).
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. The Mets offense was futile again. They had 11 hits but managed only two runs. New York was 1-for-6 with RISP and left nine men on base, including the tying and go-ahead runs in the 9th inning when McNeil flied out to deep center for the final out. Earlier, the Mets loaded the bases with one out in the 4th inning on three straight singles. But Daniel Vogelbach struck out swinging on a 3-2 curveball out of the strike zone and Luis Guillorme flied out to center.
The one bright spot for the Mets was the hitting of Michael Perez. The veteran catcher, known more for his defensive play than offensive prowess, was 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. It was his first game in the majors this season after being recalled earlier in the week when Tomas Nido landed on the IL.
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