Dominic Smith provided an insurance RBI in the 8th, and Edwin Diaz and the Mets held on to beat the Nationals to end their losing streak at five. Running into some trouble in the ninth, Diaz held on for his 11th save and the Mets despite missing some big names in their lineup sealed an elusive win.

Against Nats southpaw Patrick Corbin, Mickey Callaway decided to not start the controversial Robinson Cano in front of the flushing faithful as well as Brandon Nimmo. With Michael Conforto in the IL, JD Davis hit third. Wilmer Font got an opportunity to avenge his poor outing last week in D.C.

The warmest day of the year in Queens also saw some warmed-up bats of the Mets strike for four runs in the early going. In the first inning Amed Rosario eluded the leaping glove of Nationals center fielder Victor Robles on a stroke to deep center, and Pete Alonso followed up a batter later with a Statcast bomb well over the old left field fence.

The following two runs came on a Todd Frazier single and Carlos Gomez double during a third inning rally.

The game was a slog early on, with over 200 pitches thrown in the first five innings. Both Corbin and Font seemed to have to battle every at bat, walking a combine seven hitters each had to leave early due to high pitch counts

Cano came in to pinch hit in the 6th and showed some hustle to leg out a two-out double. It’s a little easier to hustle when you hit liners and not dribblers, and perhaps if these Mets can keep winning these concerns will go by the wayside.

Both bullpens provided some clean relief until the 8th inning. Gomez misplayed a slicing liner from Anthony Rendon who is quietly one of the best players in the majors. That ended Jeurys Familia’s night after some positive signs, and Rendon scored from second reading Victor Robles RBI single well.

But it was Smith who came through for the final blow to make the final frame much less stressful. It has been great to see the young man come through in such late-game situations. We’ll see if Zack Wheeler and the Mets can make this a winning streak.

6 comments on “Gut Reaction: Mets 5, Nationals 3 (5/20/19)

  • Brian Joura

    The Mets’ pen has been settling down lately. 5 IP, 1 ER in this game.

    Gsellman, Gagnon, Lugo, Bashlor, Diaz, Familia and Zamora have combined for 44 IP and 6 ER for a 1.23 ERA.

    Edit – in the month of May

  • Metsense

    Gut reaction: Hey Mickey, the Mets can win without batting Cano 3rd. In fact, he is a 36 year old player that should be rested periodically. You made a nice lineup for this game. Keep this up, and you might keep your job.
    Maybe Gagnon should be starting and Font be the long man. I would prefer though that Lugo be the starter and Gsellman be used in Lugo’s role.
    Dom Smith is an intrical part of the Mets. Is it just me or does he look like Atwater in Chicago PD?
    Is Alonzo going to hit 50 home runs or maybe even 60?
    Diaz Mios, thank God we have Edwin.
    Let’s keep rolling with Wheeler !

    • footballhead

      Let’s not get carried away Metsense……I would be very happy if Alonzo sets a new Mets HR record, breaking 41. Have you noticed how his (and McNeils) average has gone down? ML pitchers are finding the holes in their swings. If McNeil keeps it above .300 ( I think he’ll finish at +.310, and Pete hits 45 dingers); I’d be ecstatic.

  • Chris F

    Surely no one thinks the team will lose every game, so winning one is great but let’s not go crazy. Would be nice to get a series win that’s for sure. I honestly do not get the Don Smith fascination; I want Alonso in the game more than Smith at all times. His only value I can see is allowing some rest for Pete. If he has any trade value, I’d move him in a heartbeat.

    • Brian Joura

      I want Alonso in the game more than Smith, too.

      But just because Alonso > Smith doesn’t mean Smith = garbage. It may very well be that Smith’s best value to the club is as a trade piece. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s nothing wrong if he’s on the team the rest of the year and gets 150-200 PA. He’s a former top prospect, once considered the top 1B prospect in the minors, who has an .861 OPS. Why you take such glee in running him down – especially since I’ve been in the Game Chatters with you where we’ve had to watch flotsam like Adrian Gonzalez, Wilmer Flores, Matt Reynolds, Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, Josh Satin, Zack Lutz, etc. play 1B – is 100% beyond me.

  • Eraff

    Dom has done himself very well…if not for the parade of LH Hitters, you might envision him as a LF, as part of their rotation. He’s a very balanced looking hitter right now

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