The New York Mets have really taken to their role as a spoiler.
The Mets earned a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 4-3 victory Sunday at Citi Field, likely putting the nail in the coffin of a Nationals’ season that had already been trending downward.
Christian Scott had a quality start, Luis Torrens hit another home run, and the retooled Mets bullpen came through as New York improved to 9-3 since the trade-deadline sell-off. Scott was shaky early before settling in for his longest outing of the season, pitching 6.1 innings and recording seven strikeouts.
The Nationals jumped out to a lead in the second inning after Scott walked Daylen Lile, then hit Brady House with a pitch. Keibert Ruiz singled to right field to score Lile, but Benge threw out House on the basepaths to end the inning. Abimelec Oritz hit a solo homer off Scott in the third to put the Nationals up 2-0.
It took a while for the Mets to get on the board against Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who has dealt with injuries and control issues this season. New York had base runners in each of the first three innings but didn’t break through until the fourth. Jared Young got the rally going with a single, and Brett Baty added a double. Jorge Polanco hit an RBI groundout to score Young, before Torrens uncorked his go-ahead two-run homer. Torrens has four home runs in his last seven games.
The Mets offense continued to get hits off Irvin in the fifth inning while adding to the lead. Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette each singled before Benge hit into a double play, advancing Lindor to third. Young laced a double down the right-field line to score Lindor and put the Mets up 4-2.
The Nationals finally answered in the sixth inning against Scott with another RBI single from Ruiz. The Mets bullpen took it from there, stranding two baserunners in the seventh, preserving the 4-3 lead, and securing the sweep. Nate Lavander relieved Scott in the seventh, getting CJ Abrams to pop out and striking out Ortiz. Next up was Daniel Duarte, who turned in a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Kodai Senga earned his third career save in as many tries.
Senga’s save was efficient and drama-free. Jorbit Vivas grounded out on a ball down the first-base line that Young impressively snagged before tossing to a hustling Senga for the out. Senga then struck out Jose Tena and Harry Ford, needing just 11 pitches to get the save.
Bichette went 3-for-3 with a triple and a walk, as Benge and AJ Ewing were the only players in the Mets lineup who didn’t register a hit.
Benge has been a highlight machine this season, but especially in this series against the Nationals. Despite a tough day at the plate, Benge stole a double from Dylan Crews in the first inning with a sprinting catch that involved a crash into the outfield wall. He followed that up in the sixth inning with a sliding grab on a pop-up in no-man’s land that would have otherwise dropped down between Baty tracking from second base and Ewing coming in from center field. Either play could have led to runs for the Nationals in a game where the Mets didn’t have much breathing room.
While the Mets have been far more interesting to watch lately, the schedule gets serious. The remaining August slate features teams currently in playoff spots, starting with a home series against the streaking San Diego Padres. Game 1 is set for Monday at 7:10 PM EDT, with Mets starter Nolan McLean scheduled to duel San Diego’s Walker Buehler.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Luis Torrens, +22% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, -19% WPA
Mets pitchers: +32% WPA
Mets hitters: +18% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens home run, +25.5% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Abimelec Ortiz home run, -11.2% WPA