There are some games that we get to leave thinking, “Man, that was just a well-played baseball game.” Last night’s game between the Mets and Nationals was not one of them. The Nats committed four errors, a few mental mistakes, and allowed five unearned runs en route to dropping this one 16-7 after running out of pitching and surrendering 10 runs in the top of the 12th inning.

This one stings a little extra when you think about the Nats having golden opportunities in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings to win this game, but could not execute any of them beyond keeping the game tied. Just not a game that frankly the Nationals deserved to win, but the opportunities were certainly there.

The Action

Jake Irvin came out firing to start the game. At one point over innings one and two, he struck out four consecutive hitters. The Mets did strike first after a two-out single turned into an error-aided 3-bagger after James Wood committed a fielding error and then a throwing error on the same play, allowing Tyrone Taylor to make it from first to third with two outs. Luis Torrens then knocked him in with an RBI double to make it 1-0 New York.

The Nats had a scary moment in the bottom half of the second as Jacob Young, a tough guy, took a 93-mile-per-hour sinker directly to the ribs, and he was unable to stay in the game. Joey Wiemer came in to replace him, and we’re going to have to hope for the best for JY. The Nats did at least get a run out of it, as Weimer immediately got to run around the bases, scoring from first on an RBI double by Jose Tena. They’d snag the lead later in the inning as well on an RBI single by Drew Millas.

Wiemer did have himself a great night off the bench, and he came up big in the third inning, extending the Washington lead to 3-1 on an RBI double the other way to right field. The Mets would get that run right back in the top of the fourth as Brett Baty led off the inning with a mammoth 451-foot home run to center field, the furthest home run hit at Nationals Park so far this season. That cut the Nats’ lead to 3-2, and in the fifth inning, the Mets would erase it and then some. Jake Irvin‘s leash was extremely short last night, after the leadoff batter reached in the fifth on a Luis Garcia error. Blake Butera wasted no time, not allowing his starter to face the order for a third time. PJ Poulin came in, and a few batters later, Juan Soto came through with a two-run single, and all of a sudden, the Mets had a 4-3 lead.

• Christian Scott: 4 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 81 pitches, 1 steak dinner owed to Jacob Young
• Jake Irvin: 4 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs (1 earned), 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 74 pitches

That score held for two more innings, before Bo Bichette took advantage of a hanging breaking ball from Mitchell Parker, and deposited it into the New York bullpen for a solo shot, making it 5-3 New York.

The comeback effort began in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Nats cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly by CJ Abrams, but mark this one down as the first of Washington’s missed opportunities late in last night’s game, as the inning ended with Jose Tena striking out with the bases loaded (on what would’ve been ball 3).

The comeback effort took a big step forward in the bottom of the eighth as Curtis Mead came up big with a two-out RBI double to tie this one up at five apiece, and after a clean top of the ninth pitched by Orlando Ribalta, it was the Nats’ turn to try and win it in the bottom of the ninth. The opportunity was there against Luke Weaver, as the Nats put runners on first and second with one out, but another Tena strikeout followed by a pop out by Jorbit Vivas would put an end to that threat.

Gus Varland came on for the top of the tenth and did an outstanding job. He got a fly out to start the inning, advancing the ghost runner to third base, and after intentionally walking Juan Soto, they got Mark Vientos to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning without any damage.

So the Nationals had a huge chance to win this one in the bottom of the tenth, having the winning run on second with nobody out. They immediately moved him to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Drew Millas, and an intentional walk of James Wood put runners on the corners. Curtis Mead then drew a walk to load the bases with one out, of course, only needing that one run. They couldn’t get it. Nasim Nunez hit a ground ball right into the drawn-in infield, getting the runner cut down at home, and then CJ Abrams swung and missed at two straight pitches way out of the zone to strike out and end the inning.

The Mets got one in the eleventh on a sacrifice fly by Marcus Semien, and the Nats responded in the bottom of the inning with a creative infield single by Joey Weimer that scored the tying run. In what was their third great opportunity to win the game, the Nats had men on second and third with two outs, needing just one run, but Drew Millas grounded out to short to end the inning.

So I’m not going to chronicle the Mets’ ten-run inning, I’m just going to preface it by saying the Nationals were completely out of pitching (maybe due to pulling the starter at 74 pitches), so Paxton Schultz was forced to come in and pitch for a third consecutive day, which is just not a good situation for any reliever. Anyways, after five runs came in against him, the Nats waved the white flag and put Jorbit Vivas in to pitch, and five more would score against him. The Nats would get one in the bottom of the 12th inning on a James Wood RBI single, but that would be it, ending what was an extremely frustrating 16-7 loss.

The Positives

Despite the many mishaps of last night, there were plenty of positives that we need to acknowledge. I thought Jake Irvin threw the ball great last night; his velocity was back up, there was a ton of movement on all of his pitches, and he was generally executing the spots he wanted to throw them in. If you take out the unearned runs, he gave us four innings of one-run ball, besides wishing he could’ve gone further, that’s a great game. Mitchell Parker did a good job over three innings of relief, the only mistake being the one pitch to Bichette. Orlando Ribalta and Gus Varland were also excellent in their high-leverage opportunities last night out of the bullpen.

Offensively, Wiemer was phenomenal off the bench last night, going 2-2 with two RBI hits, and he walked and had a painful hit-by-pitch on the hand in his other at-bats. James Wood had a big offensive night, going 3-6 with a walk thrown in there too, but his defense was part of the problem in a game the Nats should have won in 9-innings. CJ Abrams was the only other multi-hit performer for the Nats last night, recording two hits.

Big News

After the game, Brady House was optioned to Triple-A. As TalkNats reported in-game and was confirmed after the game, X-Rays were clean on Jacob Young‘s ribs. Joey Wiemer doesn’t have a broken hand, but he is sore. Will either go on the 10-day IL? Rumors are swirling that Dylan Crews will be called up. Will Yohandy Morales be with him? What about a fresh bullpen arm?

What’s Next?

It doesn’t get any easier tonight for the Nationals, as game two of this four-game series will get going at 6:45 tonight. The challenge will be a significant one, as the Mets will send Nolan McLean (2-2, 2.92 ERA), a legitimate wizard with the baseball in his hand, to the mound. Be ready to see baseballs move in directions you didn’t know were possible tonight, while he’s throwing, despite the team he’s on, he genuinely is one of the more fun pitchers in the league to watch. The Nats will counter with Foster Griffin (4-2, 3.53 ERA), who is in desperate need of a bounceback outing after getting lit up in Cincinnati last week. The Nationals have their hands full tonight, but really need to get a win if they want any chance of winning this series.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

6:05 game tonight at Worcester (Andry Lara pitching)

AA Harrisburg

11:00 am game today versus Akron (Shinnosuke Ogasawara pitching)

High-A Wilmington

6:35 game tonight versus Jersey Shore (Yoel Tejeda pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

6:35 game tonight at Fayetteville