A pitchers’ duel could be in the offing Tuesday night following a wild affair in the series opener between the visiting New York Mets and the Washington Nationals.
Washington rallied late to tie Monday’s game and squandered two chances to end it before the Mets scored 10 runs in the 12th inning of a 16-7 win.
The teams will send their top starters to the mound Tuesday when New York right-hander Nolan McLean (2-2, 2.92 ERA) opposes left-hander Foster Griffin (4-2, 3.53).
McLean, 24, has allowed three earned runs or less in all nine of his 2026 starts. Last time out, he allowed three quick runs but settled in and went seven innings to defeat the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. He struck out seven and had a season-high three walks in New York’s 9-4 victory.
“Obviously, gave up the homer in the first, so it was a quick 3-0 lead for them,” McLean said. “Like I’ve talked about a bunch, my job is to go as deep as I can regardless on how well I’m pitching or not. So I’m pretty happy with getting into the seventh today.”
McLean received a no-decision in his only career start against Washington, giving up three runs and four hits over five innings last September as New York lost 5-3.
Griffin had been on a roll that came to a crashing end in his last start. After allowing two earned runs or less in six of his first eight starts, Griffin was rocked for nine runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 15-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
“He’s been as good as they come every outing thus far,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Just thought he ran into some trouble today. Maybe didn’t have his best stuff. … One blip on the radar. He’s been great so far. No concerns.”
Griffin has yet to face the Mets in his career.
The Mets pounded out 18 hits on Monday and broke up a tie game in the 12th. Brett Baty and Bo Bichette each had three hits, including solo homers earlier, and added two-run hits in the final frame. Baty extended his hitting streak to 10 games; the Mets have won six of their past seven games.
Bichette’s homer was his third of the season, and he raised his batting average to .219.
“I know it’s been a big topic, but at the end of the year we’re gonna look back on these six weeks and nobody’s gonna be talking about this,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s that good of a hitter. He’s that good of a player. … Good game today, and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna get going here and carry us for quite a bit.”
Carson Benge had three hits, three RBIs and three runs for New York, and Juan Soto reached base four times. Soto is batting 10-for-28 with two homers, six runs and six RBIs in his past seven games.
The Mets, who rallied to beat the New York Yankees in 10 innings on Sunday, improved to 6-4 in extra-inning games this season.
Washington stranded 19 runners and had chances to end Monday’s game in the ninth and 10th innings but could not score.
James Wood went 3-for-6 with a double, walk, two runs and an RBI. He has reached base safely in 21 of his last 25 games.
After Monday’s game, Washington third baseman Brady House was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. He was hitting .227 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
