The New York Mets have struggled at the plate lately, and that pretty much goes without saying, but if they want a chance to win the N.L. East, they will have to pick it up against the rival Washington Nationals.
The Mets did have Matt Harvey on the mound, but they were going up against Gio Gonzalez, who has been pretty good against them for the last few years. Since the start of 2012, Gonzalez is 7-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 12 starts against New York. He has gotten the short side of the stick in some games with his four losses because the Mets have hit only .195 against him in those those games and struck out 70 times.
New York started the game well as Ruben Tejada walked with one out. Daniel Murphy followed that up with a double down the right field line. There were now runners on second and third with less than two outs, but this has been the Mets' nemesis of late. New York was 1 for 26 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, and this was another opportunity for them as they could jump out to an early lead.
Wilmer Flores was due up. He has been swinging the bat well lately, but he didn’t get the job done this time. He hit the ball right back to Gonzalez for the second out in the inning. John Mayberry, Jr., who has been a big disappointment so far this season, was up next. Mayberry was having a good at-bat when he put a solid swing on an inside fastball and hit a hard ground ball down the line. Unfortunately, Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar made a good play and threw Mayberry out at first. Yet again, the Mets could not bring a runner in from third with less than two outs.
As disappointing as that was to see, the Mets still had Harvey on the mound, and that was something positive. Before anyone could get settled, Harvey caught Michael Taylor looking for his first strikeout of the game, and things were looking up as Harvey hit 99 MPH on the radar gun. Unfortunately, Harvey struggled to field his position on the next play when Danny Espinosa laid a bunt down the first-base side of the pitcher's mound. Harvey could not catch the ball, and Espinosa was safe at first.
Bryce Harper was due up next, and Harvey walked him on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Harvey then started the next at bat to Escobar with a fastball down the middle, but on the second pitch, Escobar singled to left field and brought Espinosa around to score.
Clint Robinson was up next, and on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Harvey threw it in the dirt. The ball got away from catcher Anthony Recker, and Harper broke for third. Recker noticed that Harper would make it easily and threw the ball to second to get Escobar. Smartly enough, Escobar got into a rundown that was just long enough to score Harper. The Nationals took a 2-0 lead and never looked back.
While the Mets’ bats stayed dormant for the next two innings, the Nationals looked to add to their lead. The Nationals started the inning with a hit by Espinosa followed by a walk to Harper. Escobar then flew out, but Espinosa was able to tag up and head to third. Clint Robinson then followed up with a double to deep center field, bringing in both Espinosa and Harper. Ian Desmond was up next, and he hit a ground ball to third, where Daniel Murphy made a nice play but threw the ball into the stands. Desmond was awarded second, and Robinson came around to score.
The Mets tried to get some back in the following inning, but they started the inning off with two quick outs. Eric Campbell then had a good at-bat and drew a walk. Juan Lagares then smacked a ball into the right-center-field gap for a double. Anthony Recker was then intentionally walked to get to Harvey, which initially looked like a good decision. It wasn’t.
The Mets' pitching staff has been great on the mound this year, but they have been just as good in the batter’s box. Harvey swung threw the first two fastballs he faced from Gonzalez, but Gonzalez then made a mistake and left his third fastball over the plate. Harvey broke his bat, but he was able to dump the ball into short right field. Campbell and Lagares both scored, reducing the Nationals' lead to just three.
New York started the fifth inning off right as Tejada and Flores each singled; the Mets looked to continue their comeback. Mayberry and Campbell, though, could not drive them in, and that was the last threat the Mets' offense would put up for the rest of the game. New York just could not spark anything else up, and they went down rather quietly. Washington did extend their lead back to five when Desmond launched a two-run homer to right-center field off Alex Torres.
The Mets took a step back in the first game, but they will have a chance to recover in the next two with Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard set to take the hill. If New York wants to stay in the division race, they will -- at least -- have to split these next two games or -- at best -- win both. Two more losses could really set them back and put them behind the proverbial 8-ball in both the Wild Card and N.L. East races.