Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 3 with the New York Mets in D.C.

Washington dropped the season opener to the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon, and the comments from Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez after the loss had a familiar ring.

Martinez talked with reporters following the game, a 2-0 loss, about the difficulty of facing a pitcher like Mets’ right-hander Jacob deGrom and some of the Nats’ missed opportunities in a game in which they were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and six left on base.

Ryan Zimmerman had an opportunity early with Trea Turner (who singled and stole second base) and Juan Soto (who walked), both on with two down when he stepped up for the first time this season and lined out sharply to third base.

Turner struck out chasing a high, full-count fastball with runners on the corners and no one out in the third, and Anthony Rendon hit a grounder to third base in the next at bat to start what ended up being a 5-4-2-5 double play when Victor Robles, who’d doubled and moved over to third on an Adam Eaton single, froze on contact, then tried to score when the throw to second for the force was made, only to get tagged out in an inning-ending rundown.

“Take a look at Zim. Hit a bullet for an out. That was an opportunity there, but he did his job and hit a bullet. Trea just got out of his game, 3-2, he swung at a bad pitch, but other than that I think we played really well,” Martinez said.

“We faced one of the best pitchers in the game, and we were in the game the whole game.”

With two more to come with the Mets today and tomorrow and 11-straight games within the division to start the season, is there added pressure to get off to a good start against the NL East rivals?

“I don’t think we have any more pressure than they [do],” Turner told reporters after going 2 for 4 with three stolen bases in the first game of the season.

“They’ve got to play us too,” Turner said, “... and we’re pretty darn good, so I’m not worried about one game, I’m not worried about playing whoever early, I mean everyone has got to play 162, and for me, I think the season is so long, that whoever is the better team is going to come out on top. I don’t think it matters who you play when, it’s just a matter of if you win.”

It doesn’t get any easier in the second of three with the Mets in D.C. Noah Syndergaard is on the mound this afternoon for New York.

In spite of the fact that things didn’t go the way that the Nationals wanted them to in the season opener, Martinez said his confidence remains high.

“There’s a lot more baseball to go,” he said, “... and I’m proud of the way they went out and played today. The hits are going to come, we’re going to score runs, no doubt, so we get a day off tomorrow we come back and we’ll do it again.”

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 2ND OF 3 WITH THE METS: