The Mets beat the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon, 6-3, thanks to a strong outing from Max Scherzer and impressive play from some top prospects.

Here are the takeaways...

- Scherzer got his first start of spring training and struck out two batters on the way to a 1-2-3 first inning. Scherzer allowed back-to-back singles in the second, and then allowed a double to Alex Call as the Nationals took a 1-0 lead. Scherzer then struck out three straight Nats to end the side. The veteran's outing was done after two innings of work, as he struck out five and allowed just the one run on three hits.

- LHP Brooks Raley came in for relief in the third and breezed through the inning as he faced four batters, including a hit-by-pitch. RHP Tommy Hunter replaced Raley in the fourth, and tossed a 1-2-3 inning to keep it a one-run game.

- The Mets offense woke up in the bottom of the fourth, as Mark Canha doubled to right, Francisco Lindor walked, and Daniel Vogelbach drove them both in on double to center field to give New York a 2-1 lead.

- Elieser Hernandez replaced Hunter in the fifth inning. He walked the leadoff man, who then stole second and tagged up to third on a fly out to right field. Hernandez then let up a sacrifice fly to CJ Abrams as the Nats tied it up at 2-2.

- Tommy Pham walked in the seventh and Alex Ramirez came in to pinch-run for him. Mark Vientos doubled to center as Ramirez showed off his speed and came around to score to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.

- Ronny Mauricio demolished a pitch from the left side of the plate for his first home run of spring training to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. New York tacked on two more runs on DJ Stewart's single, scoring Ramirez and Brett Baty to make it 6-2. Top draft pick Kevin Parada showed off his arm by throwing Darren Baker out at second to end the game.

Vientos finished the game 1-for-3 with an RBI, Baty went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, Mauricio homered in his lone at-bat, and Parada went 0-for-1 at the plate.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets play the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., on Monday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.