Washington Nationals drop 7-5 decision to New York Mets - Jacob deGrom Ks 12; Mets snap six-game losing streak

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Max Scherzer went eight innings against the New York Mets last week in Citi Field, giving up five hits and three earned runs in a 6-3 win.

Tonight, in Washington, D.C., Scherzer faced the Nationals’ NL East rivals again, and the struggling Mets, who’d dropped six straight and nine of their last ten overall, snapped out of their funk with help from catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who homered twice, hitting two and three-run blasts off Scherzer in what ended up a 7-5 win for the visitors.

Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom gave up home runs by Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Wieters in a three-run second inning, but dominated after that, striking out 12 batters total on 112 pitches over seven innings of work on the mound in the nation’s capital.

Zimmerman homered again in the eighth, hitting a two-run blast to right off Addison Reed to get the Nationals close, and they loaded the bases in the ninth, but fell short in the series opener, 7-5 final.

Nationals now 16-7

Here’s how it happened:

• T.J. Rivera hit a 2-0 fastball to left for a two-out single in the top of the second inning and Mets’ catcher Travis d’Arnaud stepped in next and crushed a 94 mph 1-0 fastball from Scherzer, hitting a two-run blast over the left field fence to make it 2-0 NY early in the series opener in D.C.

• Ryan Zimmerman cut the Mets’ lead in half with one swing in the home-half of the second, however, hitting a 97 mph 1-2 heater from Jacob deGrom out to right for a solo shot that made it a 2-1 game. Oppo-blast for Zimmerman’s 9th of 2017.

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• Anthony Rendon walked with one out in the second, and one out later, scored the easy way when Matt Wieters hit a 96 mph 1-1 fastball from deGrom over the center field fence for a two-run blast that made it 3-2 Nationals. Wieters’ second.

• Travis d’Arnaud stepped in with two on and one out in the fourth and hit his second home run of the game on a 95 mph 1-1 fastball from Scherzer that ended up in the Red Porch seats as the Mets’ retook the lead on d’Arnaud’s fourth of the year, and second of the night, a three-run blast that made it 5-3 NY.

• Max Scherzer’s Line: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks, 2 HRs, 97 P, 66 S, 3/4 GO/FO.

• Oliver Perez retired the side in the seventh on 21 pitches to keep it a two-run game after six and a half.

• Jacob deGrom went back out for the seventh at 101 pitches overall and retired the Nationals in order in an 11-pitch frame that end deGrom’s night.

• Jacob deGrom’s Line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 Ks, 2 HRs, 112 P, 77 S, 1/6 GO/FO.

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• Jose Reyes doubled to start the eighth, with Jacob Turner on the mound for the Nats.

Ryan Zimmerman’s foot came off the bag on a grounder to third off T.J. Rivera’s bat, putting runners on the corners with no one out. Turner walked Travis d’Arnaud after Rivera stole second, loading the bases with no one out and a single up the middle by Kevin Plawecki made it a three-run game, 6-3.

A bases-loaded walk to Michael Conforto made it 7-3, but a 3-2-4 DP and a groundout to second ended the threat there.

• Jerry Blevins gave up a one-out single and was replaced by Addison Reed with a runner on and two out in the Nationals’ eighth, and Ryan Zimmerman hit the first pitch from Reed out the other way for a two-run blast that made it a two-run game, 7-5 in the Mets’ favor. Zimmerman’s second of the night, 10th of the season.

• Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon followed with back-to-back singles off Reed to put runners on the corners with Jayson Werth due up, but Werth went down swinging to strand both.

• Jeurys Familia gave up back-to-back singles by Matt Wieters and Adam Lind. Adam Eaton reached on an infield single, but left the game with an injury after stepping awkwardly as he reached the bag and rolling his ankle. Trea Turner stepped in with the bases loaded and went down swinging for out No.1.

Mets’ skipper Terry Collins went to the pen for Josh Edgin against Bryce Harper, who rolled into a 1-2-3 game-ending DP.

NATIONALS NOTES:

• Washington’s 16-6 record early this season is a Nationals’ franchise record (2005-present) and it’s the best start in D.C. baseball history since the 1932 Washington Senators started 17-5.
• Washington leads the all-time series with the New York Mets (120-104), with a 38-22 record against their NL East rivals since the start of the 2014 campaign.
• The Nationals start this weekend’s three-game set with the Mets leading the majors in runs scored (139), AVG (.284), OBP (.361) SLG (.481), OPS (.842), and doubles (52).
• Daniel Murphy went 3 for 13 with a home run against the Mets last weekend in Citi Field, leaving him 34 for 88 (.386/.421/.727) with six doubles and eight home runs in 22 games against his former team since signing with the Nationals as a free agent.
• Trea Turner is 14 for 30 (.467 AVG) with five doubles, a triple and two home runs in his last six games, and he’s hit safely in all six.
• Max Scherzer had a 1.70 ERA in eight starts and 58 ¹⁄₃ IP against the Mets since joining the Nationals, heading into tonight’s outing in the nation’s capital.
• Heading into this weekend’s series the Mets had lost six-straight and 10 of their last 11 overall.
• The Mets’ six-game losing streak is their longest since 2015, when they lost seven in a row between June 17-24.

Nationals now 16-7