Not a misprint: The bullpen gets eight outs as Mets beat Nats, 6-2

Mets 6, Nationals 2 (Citi Field • Flushing, NY)

Mets Record: 46-45

Mets Streak: 2

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Luis Severino (6-3)

LP: Patrick Corbin (1-9)

SV: Jose Butto (1)

Seat On The Korner: Jose Butto

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.

Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Jose Butto, who pitched a perfect four outs to close out the game and record his first major league save. When Butto was called up from Syracuse to be a bullpen piece, the plan was for him to pitch multiple innings in a game. So far, so good. How hard has the transition from starter to reliever been for Butto? Tune in to the show.

Need To Know:

• With losses by San Diego and St. Louis, the win pulled the Mets within a half game of the final wild-card spot and a game and a half of the third. If they, and the rest of the league, can keep this up, it should be an interesting trade deadline and stretch run.

• Brandon Nimmo hit his 16th home run in the first, leading off the scoring for the Mets. Nimmo has now homered in three straight games, the first time he has done that in his career.
  

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• For the second consecutive night, Tyrone Taylor had a late-inning triple.

• Nationals starter Patrick Corbin made his 30th career start against the Mets, his second this year. Corbin's record against the Metropolitans is now 8-13.

• An oddity in the sixth inning: A runner (Pete Alonso) who failed to score on a double, and another (Jose Iglesias) who failed to advance a base from second on a single in the same inning. Both were unerstandable.

• The bullpen revolving door continues. Phil Maton arrvied from Tampa Bay, but he was not used. Eric Orze took his feel-good story and bad inning back to Syracuse, paving the way for Danny Young's return. Of great concern is the placement of Reed Garrett in the IL with elbow inflamation. Garrett threw 72 pitches (plus bullpen warmups) over the last four days, including his ineffective outing Tuesday. The words "elbow inflammation" are always alarming (see: Smith, Drew), but maybe there is a best-case scenario and rest will heal everything.

• The series finishes with a Thursday matinee battle of young lefthanders: David Paterson for the Mets and MacKenzie Gore for the Nationals.
  

Turning Point

Bottom of the sixth, Mets trailing 2-1, and the Mets got 97-year-old Patrick Corbin on the ropes with J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso singles (Alonso taking second after a daring move by Martinez to go first to third) and a Mark Vientos double to tie game. Out went Corbin, in came Derek Law, who walked Francisco Alvarez. Up came Jose Iglesias, who singled to center, scoring Alonso and Vientos. The Mets never looked back.

Three Keys:

The Bullpen Does Its Job!

After Tuesday's near meltdown (again), this time the bullpen did its job! Jake Diekman, a significant contributor to the bullpen's 8.38 ERA in its last 15 games and 10.13 ERA since July 1, struck out both batters he faced after relieving Luis Severino in the seventh. Danny Young, perhaps still tired from the long trip back from Syracuse, gave up a double to hot-hitting Luis Garcia after retiring the first two batters he faced. And, with Edwin Diaz unavailable, Jose Butto was called on for a four-out save and responded admirably. Is it a harbinger of things to come, or another example of the old adage, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day?" Stay tuned.

Solid Severino

Luis Severino was solid in his six innings plus, giving up four hits and two runs while striking oiut four., a big bounceback from his previous outing against the Pirates in which he surrendered seven runs on nine hits in six innings of the Mets' 14-2 loss. Of course, it would only have been one run allowed had Severino backed up home plate in the top of the fourth. He would have handled a slightly awry Tyrone Taylor throw from right field. Instead, he remained a spectator on the mound as Lane Thomas scored the Nats' second (and final) run. Strangely, on the next batter, Severino remained anchored to the mound on another play he should have backed up, but no harm was done. Didn't he remember what they practiced in Spring Training? Severino looked even worse when, in the bottom of the inning, Nats pitcher Patrick Corbin did back up home, preventing a run.

OMG! Iglesias does it again

Luis Iglesias continues to show why he needs to be in the lineup every dsy. Iglesias went three for four, with two RBI. Over his career, Iglesias has feasted on Nationals pitching. with a .353 average (35 for 99) in 28 games.