Mets Shut Out 5-0 by Nationals, Drop Third Consecutive Game

The New York Mets (14-10) lost to the Washington Nationals (8-14) 5-0 on Tuesday night, dropping the first game of their seven-game home stand. The Nationals offense capitalized with runners in scoring position the whole night, while Josiah Gray shut down the Mets across six masterful innings. Meanwhile, the Mets’ offensive struggled in their return from an extended West Coast trip, and New York was shut out for the fourth time in April.

The Nationals got on the board early against the Mets in the top of the second inning. José Butto retired four consecutive batters to start the game, and Keibert Ruiz launched a solo home run to center-field to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. It was the second home run of the season for Ruiz, who was the key piece in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to the Dodgers.

Washington struck again in the top of the third inning, capitalizing on a couple of walks from Butto. Alex Call and Jeimer Candelario reached base via the walk, setting up Joey Meneses to do damage. The 31-year-old singled up the middle, bringing home Call to increase the Nationals’ lead to 2-0.

The Mets had a chance to break through against the Nationals in the bottom of the fifth against Grey, but couldn’t find a clutch hit. Brett Baty sparked New York’s offense with a one-out double, and reached third base when Francisco Álvarez singled. Brandon Nimmo followed Álvarez with a walk to load the bases, bringing Starling Marte to the plate with the potential to take the lead. However, Grey settled down, and struck out Marte to end the threat. The New Rochelle native had his best start of the year against the Mets, striking out nine batters in six scoreless innings.

After the Mets failed to score in the fifth, the Nationals added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Facing Jimmy Yacabonis, Víctor Robles and Call singled, putting runners on the corners with one out. Luis Garcia stepped up to the plate, and pulled a double into the gap to increase the Nationals lead to 4-0. Yacabonis settled down and struck out Candelario for the second out, but gave up an RBI single to Meneses, which increased the Nationals’ lead to 5-0.

Neither team scored after the sixth inning, and the Mets were shut out for the fourth time this season. New York only recorded five hits—four of which were singles—in Tuesday’s matchup, and left six men on base. The pitching wasn’t pretty either for New York. Butto walked six batters while only pitching 4 2/3 innings, while Yacabonis allowed three earned runs in two innings.

Player of the Game

Brett Baty had another good night at the plate, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a double. The Mets’ rookie recorded the only extra-base hit for the Mets on Tuesday, raising his batting average to .250 and his OPS to .572.

On Deck

Kodai Senga gets the start for the Mets on Wednesday night. The Japanese rookie struggled in last start against the Giants, and allowed four earned runs in five innings. The Nationals will counter with Mackenzie Gore, the left-handed starting pitcher they received from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade. The 24-year-old has been impressive this season for a lackluster Nationals squad, striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings, while pitching to a 3.43 ERA.

First pitch for Wednesday’s game is at 7:10 p.m. The game will be available to watch on SNY and can be listened to on 880 WCBS.

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