Washington Nationals drop 2 of 3 to New York Mets in D.C. with 4-1 loss in finale...

Joan (yo-AHN) Adon (ah-DOHN) vs NYM:

Joan Adon faced the Mets in his 2022 debut back on April 9th, giving up four hits, four runs, and four walks in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched in what ended up a 5-0 loss to New York in D.C.

All four of the runs came on one swing, when he loaded the bases with two walks after a hit started the fifth, and then gave up a grand slam by Pete Alonso.

“Adon was cruising. I thought he was doing well, but the walks, the walks, and one swing of the bat, Alonso, and he fell behind,” manager Davey Martinez said after that game.

The 23-year-old right-hander, who was making his second MLB start that day, said in his post-game media scrum that he didn’t have any nerves once he got on the mound.

“No, not at all, no nerves, everything normal,” he said.

“This is what I do, this is what I love to do. If this is what I love doing, then why would I be nervous?”

Good question.

Going into his second outing of the season against the NL East division leaders, Adon had a 6.99 ERA, 5.25 FIP, 18 walks, and 27 Ks in six starts and 28 ¹⁄₃ IP, over which opposing hitters had a .261/.376/.460 line against him.

It was the walks, the walks, that cost him again, however.

Adon walked three batters in the first this afternoon, loading the bases with two out with the third, and Mark Cahna made him pay for the free passes, lining a 95 MPH, 1-1 fastball over short for a two-run single and a 2-0 Mets’ lead in the opening frame.

Adon walked two more in the second, but worked his way out of trouble, then came out and retired the side in order in a 10-pitch third which left him at 66 pitches overall on the day.

A single and a HBP in the first two at-bats of the Mets’ fourth pushed Adon up to 75 pitches overall, but he got a 6-3 DP on a grounder up the middle by Luis Guillorme, then gave up a two-out RBI single by Tomás Nido on a hanging 0-2 slider the catcher shot out to left field to drive in the third run of the game, 3-0. Nido’s single off Adon ended his start in the fourth...

Joan Adon’s Line: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 Ks, 84 P, 44 S, 4/1 GO/FO.

Walker in Washington:

Taijuan Walker missed time with a shoulder issue early this season, so going into today’s game, he’d made just three starts, all of them against the Phillies. His first two times out, Walker tossed scoreless outings against the Mets’ NL East rivals, but he gave up nine hits, two walks, and seven runs, six earned, in start No. 3, leaving him with a 4.91 ERA, 5.30 FIP, four walks, seven Ks, and a .256/.319/.442 line against in 11 total innings pitched this year.

Walked had a 2-0 lead before he took the mound this afternoon, and a 3-0 lead when he returned to the hill in the fourth and gave up a leadoff double by Juan Soto, but Josh Bell sent a grounder to third in the next at-bat, and Soto was caught in-between second and third base and tagged out on the play, then, after the pitcher, who made the tag at third, threw to second trying to get Bell, and fired it by the bag, right fielder Starling Marte recovered the ball and threw Bell out at third for an unconventional “double play-ish”.

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Nelson Cruz stepped in next and sent a fly to left to end an 18-pitch frame by the Mets’ starter, who was up to 51 total after four scoreless.

A nine-pitch fifth, in which he worked around a leadoff walk to Yadiel Hernández and a 13-pitch sixth in which he stranded Lane Thomas after a one-out single, leaving him with 73 pitches overall after six scoreless, and he was up to 85 after a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.

Taijuan Walker’s Line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 85 P, 56 S, 11/4 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Erasmo Ramírez took over for the Nationals with a runner on and two out in the top of the fourth, and gave up a single by Brandon Nimmo before he struck out Starling Marte.

Ramírez retired the Mets in order in the top of the fifth.

Carl Edwards, Jr. came on in the top of the sixth, with the Mets still up 3-0, and retired the side in order to keep it a three-run game, then did the same in the top of the seventh.

Kyle Finnegan needed just 13 pitches (10 strikes) in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth.

Steve Cishek gave up a leadoff home run by Mark Cahna on a 1-0 fastball in the 9th, 4-0.

Juan Soto took Edwin Díaz deep to right with two down in the ninth, hitting his second homer of the series over the center-field end of the out-of-town scoreboard to make it 4-1 in the Mets’ favor. Soto’s 8th of 2022.

That’s how it ended.

Nationals now 11-22