The New York Mets got off to an early lead, but it wasn't enough to finish their season with a win.
The New York Mets finished their miserable season with another miserable loss to the Washington Nationals, as Francisco Lindor finally got his 300th home run in the second inning, but the Mets turned an early lead into a disappointing 6-4 loss.
It was a classic Mets effort, as they scored a run in the first on an RBI single from Carson Benge, but Washington countered with an RBI triple from CJ Abrams to make it 1-1.
The Mets returned fire with some home run power in the second, as Ronny Mauricio hit a two-run homer and Lindor followed up with number 300, which he’s been chasing for weeks now. The chase ended with New York up 4-2, but the Mets offense packed it in after that and Washington kept scoring.
The Nats came back with a run in the second on an RBI double by Nasim Nunez to make it 4-2, and Andres Chaparro made it a one-run game with a solo homer of Mets starter Sean Manaea. Bo Bichette chipped in with an error at third that allowed another run to score, and Chaparro homered once again in the sixth to give Washington a 5-4 lead.
The Nationals finished up the scoring in the seventh on a walk to James Wood, a single by Chaparro and another hit by Brady House to get a run home and make it 6-4, and that wound up being the final. The Mets went the final seven innings without scoring, which has become the norm for a team that’s been doing this sort of thing all year long.
Manaea took the loss with an ugly line that had him giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts, and he finishes the season with an ERA of 4.78. He really shouldn’t be starting at all on a good team, but the Mets owe him $25 million next year, so based on the team’s history he’ll be back for another go-round next year.
The Washington bullpen has been bad for most of the season, but the Mets are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to giving up at-bats, and four relievers gave the Mets just three hits in six innings after starter DJ Herz got hit around early. The Mets finish up with a record of 74-88, three games behind Washington in the basement of the NL East.
