NEW YORK -- The Mets’ bullpen has been inconsistent since the Trade Deadline and Saturday was no different in a 5-3 loss in 11 innings to the Nationals at Citi Field.
With the score tied, 3-3, and Mets right-hander Tyler Rogers on the mound, Daylen Lile hit a two-run inside-the-park homer to give Washington the two-run lead.
PJ Poulin managed to retire the side in the bottom of the 11th as the Mets lost their 75th game of the season and are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Reds for third and final spot in the Wild Card race. (Cincinnati's game vs. the Cubs was in progress at the time of final out in New York.)
Early in the game, it was a comedy of errors that saw the Mets fall behind. It was a game that saw rookie sensation Nolan McLean make his seventh start of the season and he got off to a slow start in the early going. However, it wasn't all his fault that he was down by three runs after two innings.
McLean started the first frame by walking James Wood, who advanced on a wild pitch. After Josh Bell singled to put runners on first and third, Lile hit into a force play, but Wood still came around to score.
The second inning saw New York make defensive miscues. After Dylan Crews reached base on an infield single, Riley Adams followed suit with a hit to right field -- but the ball went under Juan Soto’s glove and that allowed Crews to score and Adams to advance all the way to third base.
Brady House was the next batter and he hit a routine ground ball to first baseman Pete Alonso, who then made a bad toss to McLean which allowed House to reach base. With Wood at the plate, McLean threw a wild pitch and that allowed Adams to score the third run of the game.
After scoring 12 runs on Friday, the Mets had problems touching home plate. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position until the bottom of the eighth. With runners on second and third and closer Jose A. Ferrer on the mound, pinch-hitter Mark Vientos doubled down the left-field line, scoring Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte.
An inning later, Ferrer was still in the game and the Mets managed to even the score. With runners on first and second, Soto hit a bloop single, sending pinch-runner Jose Siri home. But they were not able to get a run across in extra innings.