The Mets had one game left, on Sunday afternoon, against the Washington Nationals. Sean Manaea was taking the mound against lefty DJ Herz. They had moved the game up to try and beat the possible rain in the area from the nor’easter, but they ended up delaying the game an hour due to rain.
The Mets started the game swinging. Lindor led off with a single, then was able to take second on a wild pitch by Herz. After two outs, Carson Benge singled to drive Lindor in as the game’s first run. The Nationals
were able to get out of the inning, but the Mets had the early lead. They weren’t able to hold the lead for very long. Brady House drew a two-out walk to put a runner on, and he was brought around to score on a CJ Abrams triple to tie the game. Manaea escaped the inning with Abrams stranded at third and the game remaining tied.
The second inning was more offense for both teams. Ronny Mauricio and Lindor hit back-to-back home runs, with Mauricio’s being a two-run home run and Lindor’s solo shot being the 3ooth home run of his career. The Nationals clawed back a little in the bottom of the inning, again with two outs. Harry Ford hit a two-out double and was brought in to score by a Nasim Nuñez RBI double to cut the Mets lead down to two runs.
The Nationals kept adding on in the bottom of the third. Andres Chaparro led off with a home run to cut the Mets lead back down to a single run. Manaea got two outs, but he wasn’t able to escape with the lead. Dylan Crews hit a double, and he was brought around to score on a Jacob Young single that was deflected by Bo Bichette on an odd bounce. Manaea got the final out but the Mets had lost the lead in the third inning.
The fourth inning was quiet for both sides, and the Mets offense remained inactive in the top of the fifth. Andres Chaparro hit another home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning and give the Nationals the lead. Manaea kept the rest of the Nationals in check in the fifth but the damage had been done.
The next inning and a half were scoreless for both sides, and Manaea was removed from the game to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Manaea ended the game with five earned runs in six innings, having given up seven runs and a walk and only striking out three. Manaea was replaced by Austin Warren, and after getting an out, things got hairy for Warren. A walk and a single put runners on the corners, and Brady House hit a single to center field to drive in one of the runners and put the Nationals up by two runs. Warren got out of it after that, but the Mets had a deeper hole to dig themselves out of.
The last two innings came and went, with the Mets unable to make a comeback, and eventually falling to Nationals to end their season. The Mets ended 2026 with a 74-88 record, a disappointing result but one that was a long time coming. They head into the offseason with some uncertainty. They have their manager, their starting outfield seems shored up for the foreseeable future. But Bo Bichette’s opt out looms large for the team, and the upcoming competitive balance agreement negotiations (and likely lockout) is a cloud already coloring the offseason, with ambiguity on when (or even if) the next season will start. The next time the Mets will take the field will be in 2027…maybe.
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Win Probability Added
What’s WPA?
Big Mets winner: Ronny Mauricio, +17% WPA
Big Mets loser: Sean Manaea, -24% WPA
Mets pitchers: -29% WPA
Mets hitters: -21% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Ronny Mauricio’s second inning home run, +19.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Andres Chaparro’s fifth inning home run, -14.0% WPA
