The Mets were coming into the second game of the Nationals series on fire. Between a five game winning streak, back-to-back extra inning wins, and a ten run twelfth inning the night before, they were riding high. And their de facto ace and rookie sensation Nolan McLean was getting the start, which was a good omen to begin the game. They were facing former first rounder Foster Griffin, who parlayed three seasons of success in NPB to a contract with the Nationals this offseason.
The Mets got off to
a hot start. After Carson Benge led off with a single, Bo Bichette hit his fourth home run of the season, putting the Mets ahead early. Juan Soto and Mark Vientos hit a single and double respectively to put two runners into scoring position with still no outs. Marcus Semien hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the Mets third and final run of the inning.
After a scoreless bottom of the first and two outs to start the top of the second, the Mets decided to rerun the first inning. Carson Benge got a two-out single and Bo Bichette hit his second home run of the game and fifth of the season. The Mets didn’t score again that inning, but they had a five run lead to start the game.
In the bottom of the inning, the Mets began unraveling with impressive force. After two outs to start the inning, a double, hit-by-pitch, and single loaded the bases. Then James Wood hit a long fly ball to the wall in left-center field which was nearly caught by Nick Morabito.
Nearly.
Instead, the ball bounced off Morabito’s glove and away from him. Taylor couldn’t find it at first, and Wood turned the fly ball into an inside-the-park grand slam, the first grand slam of his career. Suddenly the Mets turned a comfortable five run lead into a narrow, insecure one run lead. The Mets got out of it after that.
That lead vanished immediately at the start of the bottom of the third. José turned the first pitch of the at-bat into a sole home run, tying the game. CJ Abrams walked and Daylen Lile singled to put runners on the corners with no outs, then a passed ball by Luis Torrens allowed Abrams to score as the go-ahead run. After a ground out moved Lile to third, Jorbit Vivas hit a sacrifice fly to drive him in to give the Nationals a two-run lead.
After another scoreless top of the inning for the Mets, they unraveled even further in the bottom of the fourth. James Wood reached on a single to lead off the inning, then a one-out grounder from Tena turned from a potential inning ending double play to pure chaos. Marcus Semien dropped the ball after he fielded it, and he threw it away attempting to get it to Bichette at second. Wood reached third and Tena reached second with one out. Abrams hit a ground ball to Bichette, who threw to home to try and get Wood. But Torrens couldn’t catch it, and both runners scored. While that was the last run scored in the inning, it wasn’t the last misplay, with Abrams almost getting caught in a rundown before McLean cut off a ball meant for Baty that allowed ABrams to return safely, though the inning ended not long after.
Nolan McLean didn’t allow any more runs in his appearance, but after hitting Abrams with a pitch in the bottom of the sixth, he was pulled. In his 5.2 innings, he gave up eight hits and nine runs (though only six of them earned). He struck out five while walking two, ballooning his ERA to 3.57.
The Mets got a little jolt in the top of the seventh, with Juan Soto hitting a two-out solo home run to bring the Mets within three runs of the Nationals. Daniel Duarte held the line for 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one batter. But the damage was done, and the Mets only being able to muster four hits after the second inning didn’t help matters after their comedy of errors in the middle of the game. The Mets have had a good month, and this currently looks like just a small blip on the radar of course correction after their disastrous start to 2026. Tomorrow yet another Met prospect will make his debut in Zach Thornton. He’ll be facing off against his given name brethren Zack Littell, who had a disastrous start against the Mets a little under a month ago at Citi Field.
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Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Bo Bichette, +21% WPA
Big Mets loser: Nolan McLean, -61% WPA
Mets pitchers: -59% WPA
Mets hitters: +9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Bo Bichette’s two-run home run in the first inning, +15.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: James Wood’s inside-the-park grand slam, -25.6% WPA
