Mets Eliminated from Playoffs in 4-3 Loss to Nationals

The Mets offense fell short in their 4-3 loss against the Nationals today, taking them out of playoff consideration. Over the seven-inning opening game,  Jacob deGrom was unable to fall into a groove allowing three runs over the five innings he pitched, with the other run charged to Miguel Castro giving the Nationals the lead in the sixth inning.

The most notable aspects of the game were Wilson Ramos‘s two-run shot in the third and Amed Rosario‘s single home run in the fourth, yet sadly the bullpen gave up the go-ahead run giving the Nats the win.

Pitching

Jacob deGrom stepped on the mound for the last time this season and struggled more than usual despite opening with two scoreless innings which included a 102.2 MPH fastball, matching the MLB high this season.  

Going into the third inning deGrom caught Josh Harrison and Victor Robles with his nasty slider for the first two outs. The pitcher then allowed a home run to Andrew Stevenson with the Nationals still trailing 2-1.

DeGrom’s composure wavered as he allowed singles to both Brock Holt and Yan Gomes with Holt eventually scoring on a wild pitch as Wilson Ramos was unable to make the tag. 

As the Nats started to sneak up on the Mets, making the score 3-2 New York, the 32-year-old ace walked Luis Garcia but minimized the damage as he struck out Harrison. 

Stevenson hit an inside the park HR as Dominic Smith ran into the left-field wall unable to make the play tying the game in the bottom of the fifth. 

After walking Juan Soto, deGrom struck out Yadiel Hernandez with a slider to finish his outing. Here’s his final line:

5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 2 HR, 113 pitches/ 78 strikes

Miguel Castro entered to relieve deGrom in the sixth, starting out the frame with a leadoff walk to Holt and single to Gomes. As Castro continued to struggle he exited the game with Edwin Diaz relieving him.

Harrison singled on a first-pitch slider from Diaz giving the Nationals their first lead of the day.

 

Offense

After Brandon Nimmo struck out, Jeff McNeil hit a line-drive single giving the Mets their first hit of the game. 

Pete Alonso struck a two-out single in the second, with Andres Gimenez on deck. Sadly Gimenez had to exit the game with an injury as Amed Rosario entered to finish out the rookie’s plate appearance. 

Luis Guillorme drew a leadoff walk to start the third as Ramos stepped up to the plate and hit a two-run bomb on a hanging slider giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. 

Rosario hit his fourth home run of the year extending the Mets lead in the fourth inning.

The Mets started out the sixth with a Robinson Cano double and Alonso walk but were unable to translate them to runs.

On Deck 

Rick Porcello (1-6, 5.46 ERA)  takes the mound for today’s second game against Anibal Sanchez (3-5, 6.80 ERA) with Seth Lugo set to start the last game of the Mets season tomorrow at 3:05 om ET against Austin Voth (1-5, 6.25 ERA).