By Zachary McMahon-
The New York Mets hosted the Washington Nationals for a series finale on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field in Queens, NY as the Mets were looking for the sweep after winning the first two games of the series.
Phil Maton made his Mets debut after being traded by the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Maton made 40 appearances for the Rays this season, with a 1-2 record and a 4.58 ERA in 35 ⅓ innings pitched., striking out 30 and walking 18 batters.
David Peterson started for the Mets, as he had the shutout, as he allowed four hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.
Mackenzie Gore pitched four shutout innings, before the Mets opened the floodgates in the fifth inning with two outs. It started with a bases-clearing double by Brandon Nummo, after Luis Torrens doubled, and Gore issued two consecutive walks to Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor.
Gore was taken out for Dylan Floro, who let in two more runs off singles by J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso, as the Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth.
Danny Young got rocked in his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday in the eighth inning. Young hit Lane Thomas to lead off, rookie phenom James Wood hit a single, and Jesse Winker hit into a fielder’s choice with Wood bring out at second.
Then Young threw a wild pitch that advanced Winker to second, and walked Juan Yepez to load the bases. He was taken out for Dedinel Nunez, who grounded out Luis Garcia Jr. for the final out of the inning to keep the shutout going.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Mets padded two more runs with RBI singles from Matt Vientos and Harrison Bader as the Mets had a 7-0 lead, which would be the final score of the game.
The Nationals were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners on base, as they left two in the first, second, and fifth inning, and along with the eighth, they also left the bases loaded in the ninth to end the game.
They have lost their fifth straight game and have now lost 16 out of the last 23 games, while the Mets sweep the series and win their fifth out of their last six games. The Nats have also been shut out for the 10th time this season, and they are 10 games under .500 for the first time this season with a 42-52 record.
The Mets improve to 47-45, as they go two games above .500 for the first time since April 24 when they won 8-2 against the San Francisco Giants.
The Mets will be playing a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies starting on Friday with Sean Mananea going up against Tanner Gordon at 7:10 pm. The Nats will travel to American Family Field in Milwaukee to face the Brewers for the weekend series before the All-Star Break.
Jackson Rutledge will be making his first start of the season for the Nationals, as he will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to make the start. He will be going up against Freed Peralta for the Brewers, as the first pitch will be at 8:10 pm.
Sports Insider Daily 