Buttó, Stanek Struggle, Mets Lose Another Late Lead In D.C.

Sunday afternoon was a story of two pitchers — and that’s without even mentioning the Nationals’ starter. Tylor Megill delivered another strong outing for the Mets, but José Buttó struggled badly. Buttó helped the Nationals claw back into the game, and a Ryne Stanek blown save let Washington rally for an 8-7 win.

As noted, Megill was terrific for the Mets, pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing just three runs on three hits while striking out nine. He exited with two runners aboard and handed the ball to José Buttó, who has been shaky lately. Buttó surrendered three runs on three hits himself, including a three-run homer to Riley Adams that cut the lead to one.

The offense came out hot, scoring seven runs and knocking around Nationals starter Mitchell Parker early, tagging him for six runs on seven hits. Mark Vientos, Juan Soto, and Luis Torrens all had multi-hit games, while Vientos, Torrens, Luisangel Acuña, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte each drove in a run. The only offensive misstep came late, when the Mets stranded two runners with no outs.

After Buttó allowed the Nationals back in, Huascar Brazoban kept them off the board, but Ryne Stanek couldn’t seal the win, giving up one earned run on two hits. The decisive play came when Luis García Jr. grounded to first, but Stanek was late covering the bag, forcing Pete Alonso into an errant throw over the pitcher’s head, letting CJ Abrams, who had tied it earlier, score from second.

This marked the first time this season that the Mets bullpen truly faltered, coughing up five runs on five hits.

Player of the Game: Luis Torrens

Luis Torrens continues his strong season with the Mets with another stellar performance today, going 2-for-4, with a two-run double in the top of the fifth inning that broke the game open at the time for the Mets.

On Deck

The Mets look to salvage the series finale in D.C. to end this weekend’s wrap-around series with Griffin Canning (3-1, 3.12 ERA) toeing the slab for the Mets. Former Met Trevor Williams (1-2, 5.11 ERA) looks to give the Nationals a series win, as he takes the mound for Washington. First pitch is at 4:05 pm ET and will be broadcast on SNY and Audacy Mets Radio 880 AM.

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