Marte Delivers Walk-Off Hit as Mets Defeat Nats 2-1

The Mets (82-68) began their final homestand of the year with a poor offensive showing, continuing the team’s recent stretch of unproductivity. But with Grimace in the building, the Mets found some late-inning magic and defeated the Nationals (68-82) 2-1 in 10 innings.

Washington starter Jake Irvin (10-12, 4.07 ERA) feasted on the Mets’ lineup in his third start against them this year. He looked much more like the version of himself that allowed one hit in eight scoreless innings to the Mets on July 4 and not the version that allowed six runs to the Mets just five days later.

Irvin again pitched into the eighth inning, but this time it came back to bite the Nats. He got pulled with one out and a runner on second after he allowed a double to Tyrone Taylor. Taylor advanced to third on a groundout before crossing home on an infield single from Jose Iglesias.

Iglesias’ hit was critical as it drove in the Mets’ first run to tie the game 1-1. Washington had scored earlier in the game on a José Tena RBI single in the fourth inning, but Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.26) was otherwise his brilliant self to keep the Mets squarely in the game. Manaea allowed just one run in seven innings of work, his seventh straight outing of at least 6 2/3 innings.

The pitchers’ duel between Manaea and Irvin put the game in the hands of the bullpens, and José Buttó did his part by pitching a scoreless eighth. Edwin Díaz followed suit with a scoreless ninth despite allowing James Wood to reach third base as the go-ahead run. Jose A. Ferrer matched Díaz with a scoreless ninth inning, pushing the game into extras.

Reed Garrett did an excellent job in the 10th inning, keeping the Nationals scoreless despite an inning-opening sacrifice bunt to move the runner over. With the perfect chance to walk off the game, Francisco Alvarez hit a deep sacrifice fly to advance Harrison Bader to third before Starling Marte delivered the winning hit with a line drive into left field.

MARTE WALKS IT OFF!!! The METS WIN! pic.twitter.com/KmnD2wBCiA

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 17, 2024

Despite being down 1-0 in the eighth inning, the Mets managed to win another game in which their offense was nearly nonexistent. The victory moves the Mets to 82-68 on the year and keeps them in the final Wild Card spot.

Statistic of the Game: Consistency is Key

Sean Manaea has pitched at least 6 2/3 innings in each of his last seven starts. He is the only pitcher in MLB this season to accomplish this feat. After he started the year unable to go deep into games, Manaea has completely reinvented himself, turning into one of the best pitchers in baseball. Over his last seven starts, Manaea has tossed 48 innings with a 2.81 ERA.

Player of the Game

Starling Marte is the player of the game for delivering the winning hit. He entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter and recorded a one-pitch groundout, but his last at-bat was the one that mattered. Marte entered Monday with a .569 OPS in his last 24 games, so hopefully, this can be the moment that turns things around for him.

On Deck

The Mets and Nationals continue their series on Tuesday evening. Tylor Megill (3-5, 4.48 ERA) will go against lefty Mitchell Parker (7-9, 4.24 ERA). Megill has struggled against Washington in his career, owning a 5.83 ERA in seven appearances. Parker, in his rookie year, has pitched just once against New York, and he allowed five runs in six innings of work.

The game will air on SNY, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

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