New-look Washington Nationals trade Juan Soto & Josh Bell, beat New York Mets, 5-1

Abbott’s Opportunity:

Cory Abbott, 26, who was selected off waivers from San Francisco in early May, had put up a 3.00 ERA (1 ER in 3.0 IP) in his two appearances in relief in the majors, while he’d put up a 5.08 ERA over 10 games (six starts) and 28 1⁄3 IP for the Rochester Red Wings between trips to the big leagues this season. He was called back up over the weekend, and given the nod to start in tonight’s matchup with the New York Mets.

“He’s been throwing the ball well,” manager Davey Martinez said after Abbott came back up from Triple-A.

“We’ve had him up here quite a bit. He’s actually done well the little stint he’s been here,” the Nats’ skipper added, “and after talking to [Triple-A Pitching Coach Rafael Chaves] and those guys down there, [Abbott has] been throwing the ball well, so we thought we’d bring him up.”

Abbott made an appearance out of the bullpen in Sunday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, throwing a scoreless inning in which he walked one and struck out two, but Martinez said afterwards it wouldn’t affect the plan to start the righty in tonight’s game.

“He was going to throw a bullpen, we asked him if he’d rather throw a bullpen or just get in a game and throw an inning, so he said he’d rather face hitters. He hasn’t pitched in seven days. So, he pitched, he did well, and that was kind of his bullpen day, so he’s scheduled to pitch Tuesday.”

Abbott gave up two hits and two walks, and hit one batter, but he kept the Mets off of the board through four, which he completed on 65 pitches, and he came out for the fifth with the Nationals up 1-0 on their NL East rivals, and the right-hander retired the side in order in his final inning of work in a solid if unspectacular outing...

Cory Abbott’s Line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 76 P, 51 S, 3/7 GO/FO.

deGrom deButs:

Jacob deGrom, 34, missed time last season with right forearm tightness and a sprained right elbow, then dealt with a stress reaction in his right scapula in Spring Training that delayed the start of his 2022 campaign until tonight.

“I’m definitely excited,” deGrom told reporters this past weekend, as quoted in an AP article on ESPN.

“It’s been a long time,” he added.

“This has been a pretty slow process of coming back, so excited to be out there. Nerves haven’t really set in yet, but I’m sure Tuesday I’ll be pretty nervous and I have a feeling it’s going to feel like my debut.”

deGrom deGrominated Nats’ hitters early, tossing three scoreless on 39 pitches, 31 strikes, while striking out 5 of 9 batters the first time through the Nationals’ lineup, but Victor Robles singled to start the fourth, stole his 13th base in 14 attempts this season, and scored on an RBI double to right by Luis García, 1-0.

deGrom got through the fifth, but the first time out, the Mets were cautious with their oft-injured ace.

Jacob deGrom’s Line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks, 59 P, 46 S, 4/2 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Victor Arano took over after 5.0 scoreless by Cory Abbott, with a 1-0 lead, but his second pitch, an 0-1 slider to Francisco Lindor, went out to right for a game-tying leadoff blast, 1-1. No. 19 for Lindor. 386 ft.

Stephen Nogosek took over for the Mets in a tie game in the bottom of the sixth, and hit Victor Robles with one out, then gave up a 427 foot shot to right by Luis García, whose 2-run blast hit the facade of the upper deck, 3-1, and 4-1 when Yadiel Hernández hit the next pitch from the reliever into the right field bullpen. 390 feet for Yadi.

Erasmo Ramírez gave up back-to-back singles to start the Mets’ half of the seventh, then got an out on a sac bunt before manager Davey Martinez went to Kyle Finnegan with runners on second and third and one out, and got a sharp liner to short off Brandon Nimmo’s bat for an inning-ending unassisted DP.

Joey Meneses, one of two players called up from Triple-A after the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade with the Padres today, made his MLB debut, and hit his first home run in the majors to lead off in the bottom of the seventh, taking Mets’ reliever Yoan Lopez deep, 405 feet out toward right-center to make it a 5-1 lead. Congrats, Joey.

César Hernandez tripled one out later, but was stranded.

Finnegan returned to the mound in the eighth and retired the Mets in order.

Carl Edwards, Jr. got the ninth and wrapped up the win with a scoreless inning.

Nats now 36-69