Mets takeaways from Monday's 10-3 loss to Nationals, including David Peterson's tough outing
The Mets closed out their seven game road trip with a 10-3 loss to the Nationals on Monday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways...
1. The Nationals made loud contact against David Peterson in the first inning with three hard hit balls, including two doubles from Lane Thomas and Joey Meneses to produce the game’s first run. Peterson’s fastball continued to be hit hard as opponents are hitting nearly 200 points higher than his off-speed pitches this season, according to Statcast as discussed on the SNY broadcast.
The Mets responded with a string of quality at-bats to even the score in the second. With two outs, Starling Marte singled and moved to third after stealing second and advancing on a throwing error. Jeff McNeil scored Marte with a single to right before Eduardo Escobar added a third consecutive hit.
New York had a chance to take the lead with the bases loaded and Brandon Nimmo at the dish. During the at-bat, Keibert Ruiz picked off Francisco Alvarez at first base from behind the plate to end the frame.
2. Washington continued to find the gaps against Peterson as Meneses doubled again in the third to score a run. The Nationals tacked on another run one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Ruiz. Two more runs came across for Washington in the fourth to add support for Patrick Corbin, who delivered six innings of two-run ball.
Hard contact headlined Peterson’s outing in which he went five innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits while walking two batters and striking out five. Monday marked the fifth time in six starts in 2023 in which Peterson surrendered four or more runs.
3. After Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso reached base in the sixth inning, Tommy Pham earned a run back with a sacrifice fly. Still down four, McNeil stepped to the plate with two runners on and two outs before lining out to left to strand a scoring chance.
4. As the Mets turned to the bullpen, the Washington bats stayed on track. CJ Abrams welcomed Tommy Hunter with a home run to right. Thomas doubled for the second time and came around to score on a Meneses infield hit. The Nationals added another run in the seventh to take a seven run lead.
5. In the ninth, the Mets added a run but ultimately fell to Washington 10-3. The Nationals scored in every inning except the second. New York ends the road trip with a 3-4 record after splitting the series in Washington and losing two of three to Cincinnati.
Highlights
What's Next
The Mets return to action at Citi Field to start a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.
Justin Verlander will start for New York, and will face LHP Jalen Beeks for Tampa Bay.
