Game Recap: Mets Survive Extra Innings Scare, Defeat Nationals 9-7

The Mets (41-41) played another extra-inning game on Monday in their series opener against the Nationals (39-45). Unlike Sunday’s game that saw the Mets lose by five in 10 innings, the Mets instead took a big lead on a J.D. Martinez three-run homer, a Francisco Alvarez RBI triple, and a Jose Iglesias two-run homer before the Nationals almost achieved an improbable comeback. By the game’s end, the Mets survived 9-7.

Monday’s game was almost another disheartening loss for the Mets, who would have lost their third in a row. They held the lead into the eighth inning, but a baffling misplay by Tyrone Taylor on a blooper in right field allowed Jesse Winker to score from first to tie the game. The Nationals then had a chance to walk it off in the ninth when James Wood reached second base with nobody out, but Jake Diekman stranded him to give the Mets a chance, which they took full advantage of. Still, it wasn’t easy as the Nationals, somehow, made it a ballgame down six in the bottom of the 10th.

The first of the four-game series saw a matchup between David Peterson (3-0, 3.51 ERA) and MacKenzie Gore (6-7, 3.47 ERA), whom the Mets attacked for six runs in 4 1/3 innings the last time they saw him just under a month ago.

David Peterson had a relatively easy first two innings before running into trouble in the third. He recorded the first out of the inning before allowing four straight batters to reach on a walk and three singles, then getting a double play to get out of the inning. In total, the Nationals tagged Peterson for two runs in the inning.

The score remained 2-0 well into the middle innings as MacKenzie Gore had a much smoother go of it this time around against the Mets. He cruised through the lineup and avoided early trouble in the first inning after allowing a leadoff single to Francisco Lindor when Nick Senzel snatched a 107.6 miles-per-hour rocket off the bat of Harrison Bader and turned a nifty double play.

Gore eased his way from there until the sixth inning, when he exited the game with two outs and a runner on second due to a lofty pitch count. It appeared he could escape without a run on his ledger, but Derek Law came in and immediately allowed an RBI single to Mark Vientos, charging Gore with the run.

Vientos’ run-scoring hit made it a 2-1 game, and the inning became a disaster for the Nationals after CJ Abrams had a routine ground ball go through his legs to continue the inning. Francisco Alvarez then rocketed the first pitch he saw into the left-center field gap to drive in two and give the Mets a 3-2 lead.

Peterson settled in after his rough third inning and found himself pitching into the seventh inning. After a ground ball out and an infield single, he was removed from the game in favor of Dedniel Núñez, who easily got the two necessary outs to escape the inning.

The eighth inning looked like it would be another easy inning for Núñez, but Jesse Winker was able to reach on a walk. His ability to reach was especially irking, considering Núñez appeared to freeze him with a backdoor slider, but the home plate umpire ruled it a ball instead of a strike, which kept the inning alive. This is where Joey Meneses blooped a ball into right field, and Tyrone Taylor couldn’t play it properly, resulting in the tying run scoring.

The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, allowing the Nationals a chance to walk it off. James Wood, MLB’s No. 3 overall prospect making his MLB debut, reached second base after Jake Diekman spiked a hurried throw to first base. He was unable to score, however, partly due to Tyrone Taylor making a game-saving grab on a Jacob Young line drive with two outs to bring the game to extras.

The Mets’ offense woke up right there, with J.D. Martinez breaking out of his slump with a huge three-run homer to put the Mets up three. From there, Francisco Alvarez and Jose Iglesias provided much-needed insurance runs, given what the Nationals would do in the bottom of the inning.

JD MARTINEZ!!! A clutch 3-run home run in the 10th makes it a 6-3 Mets lead!!! pic.twitter.com/lZluqNiqE5

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) July 2, 2024

Washington surely gave the Mets a scare, as Tyler Jay came on and somehow allowed the tying run to come to the plate after entering the game with a six-run lead. Jay allowed two walks and two doubles to score three runs, which led to Reed Garrett entering the game to bail him out. Garrett needed just one out to end the game, and he allowed yet another RBI hit to make it a 9-7 game with the winning run at the plate.

Reed Garrett then made every Mets fan sigh a huge breath of relief by striking out Luis García Jr. to put the game to bed. It was a rollercoaster, but every win counts the same. With that, the Mets are back to .500 at 41-41.

Stat of the Game: Extra-Inning Madness

The Mets played their 12th extra-inning game of the year, including their second consecutive game that extended past nine innings. They have eight losses in extras, which is the most of any team this year, but their six runs ensured that total wouldn’t reach nine. The Mets’ six runs tied a franchise record for the most runs scored in any extra inning of a game.

Player of the Game

J.D. Martinez’s three-run homer in the 10th inning was the difference, as the Mets only ended up winning by two. It was a huge hit for Martinez, who entered the game in the midst of his first real slump of the season. His home run was his only hit of the game, but he also walked twice. Martinez will continue to be a threat in the heart of the Mets’ order as they vie for a playoff spot.

On Deck

The Mets’ series with the Nationals continues on Tuesday at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Sean Manaea (5-3, 3.89 ERA) will go up against rookie DJ Herz (1-2, 5.48 ERA) in a second consecutive battle of southpaws. Manaea is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA in three career appearances against Washington and has not yet faced them this year. Meanwhile, Herz allowed four runs in four innings against New York earlier this year and will make just his sixth major league appearance.

Tuesday’s game will air on SNY, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET.

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