Washington Nationals’ bullpen strikes again in 6-5 loss to New York Mets in Citi Field...

Patrick Corbin started the afternoon with a streak of 22-straight starts in which he’d avoided allowing more than one home run, but J.D. Davis got him twice to end that streak and a third solo home run, by Michael Conforto, made it three off the Nats’ lefty, and 3-1 Mets.

The Nationals battled back with a solo shot by Anthony Rendon in the eighth tying things up at 3-3 before Wilmer Difo sent a two-run homer to right off Jeurys Familia to put Washington up, 5-3.

New York tied it up in the bottom of the eighth, however, with Pete Alonso and Robinson Canó both taking Justin Miller deep to tie it back up, 5-5. Keon Broxton hit a two-out RBI single off Tony Sipp to put the Mets on top for good, 6-5 final.

Corbin vs NYM: Patrick Corbin gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings on the mound against the Mets last week in Washington, but this afternoon the left-hander who signed a 6-year/$140M free agent deal with the Nationals this winter, was starting on the road in Citi Field.

While he played the stopper’s role last time out, after the Mets took the first two games of the season-opening series in D.C., the southpaw was trying to help the Nationals to a third straight win in his second outing.

Corbin struck out five of the first eight batters he faced in two scoreless innings, and seven of 10, completing three scoreless on 46 pitches total. His 47th pitch of the game, a center-cut fastball to J.D. Davis, ended up sailing over the right-center field fence for a solo homer that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Anthony Rendon doubled and scored to tie it at 1-1 in the top of the sixth, but Davis hit his second home run of the game on a 2-1 fastball in the bottom of the inning, sending a solo shot to left this time to put the home team back on top, 2-1.

That blast snapped a streak of 22-straight outings in which Corbin avoided allowing more than one home run, and Michael Conforto hit the third blast of the game off the Nationals’ lefty one out later, crushing a hanging slider, 3-1 NY.

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 Ks, 3 HRs, 86 P, 57 S, 4/3 GO/FO.

Mets’ Matz: Mets’ left-hander Steven Matz went (0-3) with a 5.88 ERA in six starts and 26 IP against a decidedly different Nationals’ lineup in 2018, and heading into the game today he hadn’t won a start against Washington since his first career outing against NY’s NL East rival in 2016.

Though his pitch count was climbing (up to 82 after 4 IP), Matz got off to a good start, with four scoreless innings in which he worked around one hit and four walks, striking out eight batters, and he kept the Nationals off the board in a 21-pitch fifth that left him at 103 total and ended his day.

Steven Matz’s Line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 Ks, 103 P, 65 S.

Rendon Already Streaking: Nationals’ third baseman Anthony Rendon started the afternoon with a five-game hit streak going, over which the 28-year-old was 10 for 19 (.526 AVG) with a total of three doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, and two walks. Rendon also had good stats against Mets’ starter Steven Matz, with eight hits and three home runs off the left-hander so far in 24 plate appearances in their respective careers.

Rendon (who walked more than he K’d in college) walked in his first at bat this afternoon, but K’d looking the second time up against Matz, (0 for 1, BB).

He didn’t get any hits off Matz, but Rendon doubled off reliever Robert Gsellman to start the top of the sixth, extending his hit streak to six straight games (over which which he was 11 for 21, .524 AVG), and then scored the first run of the game for the Nationals, with back-to-back groundouts bringing him around to make it 1-1 in the sixth in Citi Field.

Rendon homered in the eighth for his second hit of the game and third home run of 2019.

BULLPEN ACTION: Robert Gsellman gave up a leadoff double to left by Anthony Rendon in the first at bat of the sixth, and Juan Soto moved Rendon over to third with a groundout to second, setting Ryan Zimmerman up with an RBI opportunity after the Nationals went 0 for 3 with RISP to start the game. Zimmerman hit a grounder to short to tie things up at 1-1, but the lead didn’t last long.

Justin Wilson took over with a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh, and retired the two batters he faced before a walk to Victor Robles and bunt single by Adam Eaton put two runners on, which brought Brian Dozier up, forcing the Mets to go to the ‘pen again.

Jeurys Familia came out of the bullpen, so Davey Martinez went to pinch hitter Matt Adams, and a passed ball on a swinging strike allowed Robles to score from second base to make it a one-run game, 3-2 Mets.

Juan Soto and Victor Robles: FUTURE IS NOW in the Nationals’ outfield...

LINK: Get a new Soto/Robles The Future t-shirt from BreakingT NOW!!!

Kyle Barraclough got the call in a one-run game in the Mets’ half of the seventh, and walked the first batter he faced, but a caught stealing erased that runner, and the right-hander got out of the inning with the score still 3-2 NY.

Famillia returned to the mound in the eighth, and gave up a game-tying, opposite field blast by Anthony Rendon, whose third of 2019 tied things up at 3-3. Juan Soto singled in the next at bat, and scored two outs later when Wilmer Difo crushed a 2-2 slider inside and hit it out to right for a two-run blast that made it 5-3 Nationals.

Justin Miller took over in the eighth inning and gave up a solo shot by Pete Alonso on a 2-1 slider that cleared the center field fence, 5-4 Nats, and 5-5 when Robinson Canó crushed Miller’s 3-2 fastball and hit it out to right-center.

Michael Conforto hit a two-out double off Tony Sipp with two down, and Sipp hit Jeff McNeil to bring Keon Broxton up with two on, and Broxton hit a 2-2 splitter to right for a go-ahead RBI single, 6-5 Mets.

Edwin Díaz came on for the save opportunity in the ninth inning and retired the side in order to end it, 6-5 Mets final.

Nationals now 3-4