MLB results: Mets 2, Nationals 1 – Mets win with late-inning heroics

The Mets were lucky to stay in the wild card position after losing the Phillies series, as the Braves lost to the Dodgers on Sunday night. But now they faced the Nationals, who they couldn't beat without an excuse. The Mets had received positive news a few hours before the game, as Lindor's MRI results meant only a few days off and not a complete layoff. Tonight, however, they were without her and still needed to win. But they had Sean Manaea, their star this season, as their starter, so they still had hope.

The first two innings were the same for both teams. Both the Mets and Nationals sent out their first six batters in order. Manaea had three strikeouts and Jake Irvin had two. But the Nationals made the third inning a little more exciting. Keibert Ruiz started with a single. A soft grounder by Jacob Young was fielded by Pete Alonso, who had only one play to second base since both he and Manaea were after the ball. But he threw the ball to center field, so both runners were safe (José Iglesias made a good play to fool Ruiz into thinking he had the ball, preventing him from advancing to third base). But a pop out and a double play got the Mets out of the inning without the Nationals scoring any runs. At the end of the inning, the Mets went out in order again, reminiscent of Irvin's start against the Mets on July 4, when he shut down the Mets for eight innings.

The Nationals made the beginning of the fourth inning another eventful one. Juan Yepez led off with a double that went between Brandon Nimmo and Tyrone Taylor. Andrés Chaparro got the first out on a groundout, but Yepez got to third base. And José Tena hit a single to left field, bringing Yepez home for the game's first run. Francisco Alvarez threw out Tena trying to steal second base, and Ildemaro Vargas hit a line drive to Nimmo to end the inning. The Mets entered the bottom of the fourth inning trailing by a run, but they tried to score some runs of their own. Iglesias led off with a single and was topped with a deep fly out to right field by Jesse Winker. JD Martinez got the second out on a groundout, but a single by Pete Alonso and a walk by Brandon Nimmo loaded the bases with two outs. Mark Vientos hit a very soft ground ball, but was not very quick and therefore did not get to first base when he threw it, meaning the Mets were unable to capitalize on their best opportunity yet.

Aside from a walk by Nasim Nuñez, the Nationals were quiet in the top of the fifth. The Mets went down again in order in the bottom of the fifth, and the same was true for both teams in both halves of the sixth. The Nationals couldn't get anything done in the top of the seventh, and aside from a one-out single by Brandon Nimmo, the same was true for the Mets in the bottom of the inning. José Buttó came out as a reliever in the eighth and pitched a perfect inning. Irvin was still in at the start of the bottom of the eighth. Taylor led off with a double, and a groundout by Francsico Alvarez (initially ruled safe but overturned after review) moved him to third base with just one out. The Nationals brought in Derek Law to replace Irvin, and Starling Marte came in as a pinch hitter for Eddy Alvarez. He was grounded out on the first pitch, jeopardizing the Mets' best chance at a run. But Iglesias was successful, hitting a liner right off Law that none of the Nationals infielders could reach, allowing Taylor to score and tie the game. Jesse Winker managed a walk to extend the inning, but Martinez struck out with momentum to end the inning.

In the ninth inning, Edwin Díaz came in to keep the game tied. Marte replaced Winker in right field, Iglesias moved to second base, and Luisangel Acuña came in at shortstop. James Wood led off with a single and then stole second base. Yepez grounded out for the first out and Wood got nowhere, but when Luis García Jr. (seeded in as a pinch hitter for Andrés Chaparro) grounded out, Wood made it to third base with two outs. Díaz was able to strike out Tena, keeping the game tied until the bottom of the ninth inning. However, the Mets went down in order against Jose A. Ferrer (seeded in as a replacement), so the game went into overtime.

Reed Garrett came in as a pitcher to start the tenth inning. Ildemaro Vargas laid down a sacrifice bunt to move ghost runner José Tena to third base. Two consecutive groundouts to shortstop left Tena standing on third base and gave the Mets another chance to win the game. The Nationals brought in former Mets Jacob Barnes as a pitcher and the Mets brought in Harrison Bader as a ghost runner, which could cause problems for the Mets defense if they didn't score in the tenth inning (they took out Vientos and were running out of infielders on the bench). They immediately intentionally walked Taylor to get to Francisco Alvarez. A long fly out by Alvarez moved Bader to third base with one out. And Marte tied the game with a sharp single to left field to end it.

The Mets had to win this game. They are in the thick of the wild card hunt, and this is their easiest series left on the schedule. They have to win this series (actually, run it all the way). The Braves lost their game against the Dodgers on Monday night, 9-0, giving the Mets sole ownership of the last wild card spot. The race will most likely be decided in the series against Atlanta in a week, but every win helps in case one of the other teams collapses.

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Probability of winning added

What is WPA?

Big Mets winner: Reed Garret, +30.5% WPA
Big Mets loser: Mark Vientos, -25.4% WPA
Mets pitcher: +70.5% WPA
Mets bats: -20.5%
This is the best game: José Iglesias' RBI single in the eighth inning, +28.4% WPA
The sux0rest game: Starling Martes groundout in the seventh inning, -17.6% WPA