Mets takeaways from Friday's 1-0 loss to Nationals, including Joey Lucchesi's scoreless outing and NY's second straight shutout

Mets mustered two hits, closer Edwin Diaz came apart in non-save situation

6/19/2021, 2:28 AM

The Mets started a four-game series Friday at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., with a 1-0 loss -- their second straight two-hit shutout -- to the Washington Nationals.

Five things to know from Friday's game

1. LHP Joey Lucchesi gave the Mets a chance to win, going 5 1/3 innings and turning in the latest promising start. Lucchesi (1-4, 4.46 ERA) yielded four hits while striking out five and walking two on 90 pitches (55 strikes).

2. The Mets, however, were unable to get a spark against Nationals RHP Erick Fedde. In seven scoreless innings, Fedde limited New York to just two hits while striking out six and walking four on 100 pitches (61 strikes).

3. Only LF Dominic Smith (1 for 3) and 2B Luis Gillorme (1 for 2) were the only Mets to muster a hit. 3B Jonathan Villar, out of the leadoff spot, struggled with an 0-for-4 night that included three strikeouts.

4. Initially following Lucchesi, the Mets bullpen kept Washington at bay with a scoreless stretch through the eighth -- a combined effort from RHP Miguel Castro (1 2/3 IP), LHP Aaron Loup (2/3 IP) and RHP Seth Lugo (1/3 IP).

5. After Lugo's one-out eight-inning appearance, manager Luis Rojas turned to closer Edwin Diaz in a non-save situation with things still scoreless in the ninth. However, following a close-call full-count walk to Juan Soto to start the frame, Diaz fell apart with little room for error. Soto advanced to third on Ryan Zimmerman's right-field line-drive single and Yan Gomes' left-field-line hit fell for the walk-off to hand the Mets a tough loss.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets (35-27) and Nationals (31-35) return to National Park in a doubleheader Saturday, with the first of two seven-inning games set for a 1:05 p.m. start. Mets LHP David Peterson (2-5, 5.60 ERA) and Nationals RHP Joe Ross (3-6, 4.19 ERA) are projected to start.

The second game, getting underway at 6:05 p.m. on SNY, features Nationals LHP Jon Lester (0-2, 4:09 ERA) and a to-be-determined Mets starter.

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