Game 41 of 162
Mets 8 Nationals 2 (Nationals Park, Washington, DC)
Mets record: 20-21
Mets streak: Won 1
WP - Max Scherzer (3-2)
LP - Jake Irvin (1-1)
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 eight run fifth inning was a huge sigh of relief for a team who has found runs hard to come by. Mark Canha bookended the inning with an RBI double to make it 1-1 and an RBI single to make it 8-1 as the Mets won the nightcap of their rain altered split doubleheader in Washington. Canha went 3-for-4 in total for the game.
Need to Know
Our long regional nightmare is over: The Mets didn't give up a run in the first inning for the first time in eight games.
They did, however, give up a run in the second on a ball in which Starling Marte got turned around and had trouble finding the ball in the sun on a fly ball by Game 1 hero C.J. Abrams.
But it was all peaches and cream from there, as the Mets' 8 run fifth inning in which 12 batters came to the plate let the Mets breathe.
Marte's two hits in the second game of the DH gives him 5-for-12 so far this series.
The run in the second inning was all that Max Scherzer would give up in his return to action after neck spasms. Scherzer went five innings and gave up two hits and two walks while striking out six.
Brooks Raley came back from the IL and pitched the 6th inning ... walking three but somehow getting out of the inning unscathed.
Turning Point
The entire 5th inning was a turning point. You could honestly point to anything. But Canha's first double which kick started the inning is as good a place as any to set the pivot point ...
Three Keys
Max Scherzer. That's by far the biggest key of the game if not the season. His five innings were the best he's thrown this season by far. His slider was sharp, and his fastball popped. If he is really past the neck spasms and the scapula issue isn't barking too loudly at him, the outlook for the Mets grows exponentially.
In that 8 run fifth, the Nationals were tantalizingly close to ending the rally with two outs and Francisco Lindor up with first and third. Nationals starter Jake Irvin made a good pitch to get Lindor out, but as baseball fans know it's not how hard you hit it, but where it goes. The Mets could certainly use some of this good luck as they have had their share of bad luck lately.
Zach Muckenhirn pitched the last two innings of the game, which was key only because he weaved his way in and out of trouble, especially in the 8th when the Nationals scored a run off him and loaded the bases with two outs. Drew Smith was warming up in the bullpen fairly hard, and if Muckenhirn had given up one more hit to Lane Thomas, Smith would have had to enter the game. But Muckenhirn got Thomas to end the inning, and then also saved Adam Ottavino (who was warming up) a turn when he got out of the inning after giving up two singles to lead off the 9th. Zach sure bent a lot, but his success in not breaking saved the big guns an appearance. So while he may not have been a big key to today's win, his two innings might turn out to be an important key for tomorrow.
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