As the calendar turned to July, the Mets began the month with an extra-inning win over the Nationals by a score of 9-7 on Monday night in Washington, hanging on to win after scoring six times in the top half of the 10th.
Here are the takeaways...
-Tied at 3-3 after nine frames, the Mets went to extra innings for the second straight game. Things went a little differently as J.D. Martinez -- who had been in an 0-for-12 skid, including a strikeout in the 10th inning with a chance to win on Sunday -- busted out and unloaded a 420-foot three-run shot to dead center that gave his team the lead, scoring Francisco Lindor (automatic runner) and Harrison Bader who reached after getting hit by a pitch.
But it didn't end there. With two outs in the inning, Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez hit a double and triple to nearly the same spot in right field to add another run. For good measure, Jose Iglesias rocketed the first pitch he saw for a two-run homer -- his first as a Met and first since 2022 -- to extend the Mets' lead to 9-3.
-It nearly wasn't enough as New York's bullpen surrendered four runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Tyler Jay began the inning, but could only get two outs, allowing four runs (three earned) on two hits and two walks. Reed Garrett had to come in and after giving up a hit of his own, he ended the game with a strikeout.
-After a rough start against the Mets on June 3 where he allowed six earned runs in 4.1 innings, MacKenzie Gore flipped the script on Monday night by holding the Mets scoreless through the first five innings. But it was the sixth inning where New York did damage by pushing the envelope and taking advantage of a crucial Washington error.
Nursing a 2-0 lead in the sixth, the lefty allowed a leadoff hit to Bader, who then stole second base with Gore struggling to contain the running game this season. Gore managed to get the next two hitters out, but at 104 pitches and Mark Vientos, who had a double earlier in the game and who took Gore deep in that bad start in June, coming up Nats manager Dave Martinez went to his bullpen to try and get the final out of the inning.
-As he’s done all season since his call-up, Vientos came up big with a runner in scoring position and laced a single off reliever Derek Law to get the Mets on the board and cut their deficit in half. Taylor followed with a hard-hit ball right to the shortstop CJ Abrams that should’ve been the final out of the inning, however, Abrams let the ball go right through his legs to put runners on the corners for Alvarez.
On the very next pitch, Alvarez jumped Law and roped a go-ahead double to the left-center field gap to give New York its first lead of the night.
-Despite some early hits, David Peterson pitched well, although he did allow two runs to score in the third inning after a walk and three straight singles. After that, the lefty settled down nicely and kept the Nats off the board, getting help from his defense which turned two double plays.
His final line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K on 86 pitches (62 strikes). He was pulled after allowing a single to Keibert Ruiz and was not happy about it, throwing his glove in the dugout.
-Dedniel Nunez came on in relief and after finishing off the seventh, he went back out for the eighth still trying to hold a one-run lead. Nunez began the inning by retiring the first two batters and was in a prime spot to finish off a perfect outing by getting ahead of Jesse Winker, 0-2. The righty ultimately lost him to a walk, though, and Joey Meneses followed with a hit to right field that took a funny hop and eluded Taylor which allowed Winker to score the tying run.
Game MVP: J.D. Martinez
The designated hitter broke out of a mini-slump at just the right time and atoned for a missed opportunity in Sunday's game.