Mets top Nationals for sixth straight win as daunting schedule looms
The varsity portion of the Mets’ schedule has arrived, the stretch that likely will determine if the team can moonwalk to the NL East crown or will have to sweat to get there.
The Mets have spent the better part of the first third of the season beating up on the weak underbelly of the National League, getting fat on their woeful division, which doesn’t include another team over .500, and manhandling overwhelmed JV opponents. Of their 52 games, just 14 have come against teams over .500, though it should be noted the Mets have won nine of those.
That will changes over the next three weeks. Beginning Thursday with a 10-game trip to Southern California in which they will face the powerhouse Dodgers, contending Padres and surprising Angels. They will then return home to meet the NL Central-leading Brewers and also will have a pair of two-game series with the potent Astros in the coming weeks.
“It’s going to be a good challenge,” said Carlos Carrasco, who won for the sixth time after delivering five shutout innings in a 5-0 victory over the Nationals on Wednesday at Citi Field, “but I think we are prepared for that.”
The Mets will enter this daunting stretch riding high, on a season-best six-game winning streak following their victory over the Nationals, which completed their first perfect homestand of at least six games since going 10-0 in 2015. They improved to 35-17 and maintained their enormous lead in the NL East, a stunning 10 ¹/₂ games over the Braves.
The Mets outscored the Phillies and Nationals by a combined 49-17 on the homestand, the offense exploding and the pitching staff holding its own though the starting rotation has been ravaged by injuries.
On Wednesday, the offense was somewhat dormant considering the recent outbursts, but it didn’t matter. Carrasco and three relievers combined on a six-hit shutout, the Mets’ major league-leading ninth of the season and second in as many days.
“This goes back to spring training. We know that this team is built to win,” said Tomas Nido, who was the offensive hero with a career-high four hits and three RBIs. “From Day 1, everyone has put in the work. Everybody feeds off of each other. Everybody’s trying to help each other. Whether you’re leading off [or] hitting last, playing [or] not playing, everybody has the same mindset.”
It was a laborious five innings for Carrasco. He didn’t retire the side in order once. The Nationals had multiple runners on base in three different innings. He walked a season-high five, including three consecutive hitters in the third inning, but Carrasco was still able to make it through without allowing a run.
He made big pitches in big spots: He struck out Yadiel Hernandez in the third inning with the bases loaded after throwing 11 consecutive balls, he induced Dee Strange-Gordon into an inning-ending double play in the fourth and he retired Hernandez on a weak grounder in front of the plate with two on to finish out his outing.
“No matter who’s on the other side, we’re trying to jam it down their throat and get the job done,” Nido said.
The Mets broke through in the fourth against Evan Lee, who was making his major league debut, on Nido’s run-scoring single. Two runs scored on the play, with Luis Guillorme coming all the way around from first when Strange-Gordon booted the ball. Francisco Lindor made it 3-0 in the seventh with a sacrifice fly, extending his RBI streak to a career-best 10 games. Nido put a bow on the one-sided win with a two-run double in the eighth.
It was another stress-free nine innings for the most part, just as the first two wins of the series were. That figures to change over the next few weeks. The Mets will be taking several steps up in class.
“We’re facing three really tough foes in their park,” manager Buck Showalter said, “but we knew it was coming.”
