Mets Have No Answer for Lester, Nats in 6-2 Loss

Well, it wasn’t the third shutout in the last four games for the flailing Met offense, but New York still struggled to find any answers at the plate.

National starter Jon Lester went six-plus strong innings and Washington took the night cap from the Mets, 6-2, to split Saturday’s twin billing.

The veteran lefty picked up his first win as a member of the Nationals and didn’t allow a run until Jose Peraza’s two-run homer with the Mets down 6-0 in the seventh.

Lester set the tone immediately, putting the Mets down in order in the first and second innings, striking out Francisco Lindor and James McCann in the process.

Robert Gsellman – making a spot start for the somewhat shorthanded Mets – didn’t fare quite as well early on. Kyle Schwarber greeted Gsellman with his third leadoff home run of the last week – a bomb to center field.

The righty sinker-baller actually got out of the first without allowing another run, but was fortunate to do so. Trae Turner followed Schwarber’s blast with a single, but Juan Soto grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to ease the pressure on Gsellman.

After a Josh Bell opposite field double, catcher Yan Gomes lined out sharply to Lindor to get Gsellman through the first. He settled down though in the second inning, retiring the Nats in order to end his day.

Albert Almora Jr. – in his first at-bat since getting injured on May 11 – picked up the first Met hit of the game in the third with a one-out ringing double off the center field fence. Lester wiggled out of the jam though, striking out pinch-hitter Billy McKinney before forcing a Jonathan Villar flyout to left.

Sean Reid-Foley entered for the bottom of the third and got the first two batters he faced before hanging a breaking ball that Turner deposited into the left field seats, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Soto then fisted one the other way through the shift, but Reid-Foley struck out Bell swinging to end the frame.

Soto’s nice sliding catch retired Lindor to lead off the fourth, but James McCann’s single gave the Mets their second baserunner of the game. Pete Alonso followed suit, putting runners on first and second with one out for Kevin Pillar. A 10 pitch at-bat ended with Pillar flying out to right – moving McCann over to third with two outs – but Brandon Drury grounded out to short to end the threat.

In his second inning of work, Reid-Foley walked Gomes to lead off the fourth and Luis Garcia followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no one out. Reid-Foley fell behind Starlin Castro 2-0 and he took advantage, drilling a ground-rule double the other way, just out of the diving reach of Pillar.

Reid-Foley struck out Victor Robles and Lester to almost dig himself out, but Schwarber busted the game open with a three-run shot to right center, ending a forgettable day for mustached reliever.

Yennsy Diaz – the Mets 27th man for the double-header – came in and retired Turner to end the inning, but the damage was done with the Nats up 6-0 after four.

With the big lead, Lester continued to cruise, forcing two groundouts and a strikeout in a feeble Met fifth inning.

Soto singled off Diaz to start the bottom half of the frame, but Bell flew out, Gomes struck out and Garcia grounded out to strand Soto.

Lindor’s single through the shift and McCann’s double gave the Mets runners on second and third with one out for Alonso in the sixth, but the Polar Bear stayed frigid at the plate, flying out to shallow left on the first pitch he saw. The inning ended with Pillar taking a pitch roughly eight inches outside that home plate ump C.B. Bucknor deemed close enough for strike three.

Diaz stayed in for the sixth, getting an equally egregious call from Bucknor to strike out Castro. Robles singled but Villar made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on Lester’s foul ball and Schwarber lined out to second for out number three.

Bidding for his first shutout since 2014, Lester gave up a Tomas Nido pinch-hit single into center field and Peraza parked the lefty’s 100th pitch of the day into the seats in left center to get the Mets on the board.

Wander Suero came on to put the finishing touches on things for the Nats, but was greeted with Almora’s second double of the day. After Mason Williams moved Almora over with a groundout to second, Villar struck out and Luis Guillorme walked to force Nat manager Dave Martinez to bring in his closer Brad Hand with two on, two out and McCann due up.

The lefty needed only one pitch to coax a groundout to third, ending the 14-inning day.

The Mets will try to escape D.C. with a series split tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. on SNY. Taijuan Walker (6-2, 2.12 ERA) looks to stay hot in the orange and blue, and is opposed by the surprisingly middling Patrick Corbin (4-5, 5.60).

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