3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Suffer Injury Blow in Nats Sweep

Sweeping the Washington Nationals didn’t come without a price to pay for the New York Mets.

The Mets took all three games from the Nats to extend their winning streak to six consecutive games. However, they suffered a significant blow after losing a key starter to injury in the finale.

Therefore, while New York now has the best record in MLB and is winning games at a high clip, a major injury setback could potentially alter the mood heading into the weekend.

To that end, let’s recap all the good, the bad and the in-between from the Mets’ sweep of the Nationals in the new edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

MASTERPIECE ON THE MOUND

David Peterson has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the game since returning from hip surgery. And, on Wednesday, he authored one of the best outings of his entire career. The lefty was masterful in the second game of the series, throwing the first complete game shutout of his career. It was also the first complete game by a left-hander for the Mets since Steven Matz accomplished the feat on July 27, 2019. Peterson was incredibly impressive in how he went about securing his complete game shutout, striking out six with six hits and no walks. He threw 106 pitches and used all five of his offerings in his arsenal to get the job done. Furthermore, Peterson has now gone seven-plus innings in three of his last four starts. He’s also one of only 13 pitchers to have logged at least 200 innings since May 29. In other words, Peterson is becoming the kind of bulldog pitcher the Mets have long needed and craved.

HAPPY JEFF IS BACK

We’re seeing yet another resurgence from Jeff McNeil. The veteran has been unstoppable as of late, and he was certainly red-hot against the Nationals. McNeil started off on the right foot by hitting a walk-off single in the series opener. He then kept his hitting and on-base streak alive on Wednesday, before hitting a clutch three-run bomb in the first inning of the finale. McNeil has now reached base safely in his last 15 games. He also has hit four homers in his last five games, while collecting 10 RBIs during that stretch. McNeil is now 12-for-37 (.324) over 10 games in June. The second baseman is red-hot, and he’s been a big part of the offense finally starting to click.

FINDING HIS GROOVE

As great as McNeil has been as of late, Brandon Nimmo also deserves a huge amount of credit. The outfielder has been raking since being moved up to the second spot in the order. Over a 12-game span as the two-hole hitter, Nimmo is hitting .381 with four home runs, three doubles, eight RBIs, a .458 on-base percentage and a 1.196 OPS. He was a potent weapon in this series, too. Across the three games, Nimmo went 5-for-11 with three homers, five runs scored and three RBIs, including hitting a pair of jacks in Wednesday’s win. He hit another home run in the finale and looks very comfortable batting in the two-hole.

3 DOWN

BRUTAL BODY BLOW

There were very few things to complain about with the Mets on their way to sweeping the Nats. But, in the sixth inning of Thursday’s game, disaster struck. Kodai Senga, who has been pitching at a Cy Young level in 2025, suffered a strained right hamstring while trying to cover first base. He will now be placed on the injured list and undergo an MRI. Depending on the results, it could be a significant blow for the Mets. After all, Senga was pitching to a stellar 1.59 ERA in 68 innings over 12 starts prior to going down. His loss could be a real body blow to the starting rotation. Others will need to step up in order to fill the void. But, given how well he has been pitching this year, losing Senga for a prolonged period of time will be a tough loss to overcome.

UP & DOWN

Griffin Canning has been struggling for consistency lately. The righty got the train back on the tracks against the Dodgers after a string of tough outings. However, he failed to build on that and struggled in his latest start against the Nationals on Tuesday. Canning allowed four earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks, while lasting just 5 1/3 innings. As a result, he’s only pitched six innings once in his last five starts. The Mets will hope that he can get back to his early-season form, especially in the wake of Senga going down.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT 

The Mets not only had to survive Senga leaving Thursday’s game hurt, but they also had to navigate a late Nationals comeback. New York was cruising with a comfortable lead going into the top of the ninth. However, things quickly derailed. Ryne Stanek entered the game and allowed three consecutive hits without recording an out. He left the game after allowing three runs – two earned- to be replaced by Edwin Díaz. Díaz also struggled, issuing a walk and a single before eventually working out of the jam to secure the victory for the Mets. Still, the game finished a lot closer than it should have, and both Stanek and Díaz did their best to try and throw the finale away.

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