The New York Mets look to continue their modest upswing on Tuesday when they open a three-game series against the host Washington Nationals.
The Mets matched a season-high win streak of seven games last month before seeing the bottom fall out, including losing for the 14th time in 16 games in the opener of an interleague set against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
New York responded by winning the next two contests before enjoying a much-needed day off on Monday.
Francisco Lindor and Francisco Alvarez each had three of their team’s 14 hits in the Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night in the Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pa.
“It feels good, but again, one-day-at-a-time mentality. We need to start winning series,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We know we’re good. It’s been rough, it’s been tough for all of us, but there’s no looking back now. All we got to do is just worry about what we need to do today to get a W and continue to win series.”
Not all was rosy for Alvarez, however, who injured his right thumb on Sunday following a head-first slide on a steal of second. He was scheduled for an MRI exam in New York on Monday.
Mets left-hander David Peterson (7-5, 3.30 ERA) will look to get back on track after turning in a second straight subpar performance and third winless effort in August.
Peterson allowed six runs on five hits with five walks in a no-decision against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. What made matters worse for the All-Star is he was staked to an early 6-0 lead, while Atlanta rallied for an 11-6 victory.
“It’s frustrating. … We’re not holding up our end, and we need to do better. I think that starts with analyzing the performance and then turning the page, moving on to the next one,” Peterson said.
“I was a little out of sync with my mechanics and wasn’t able to dial it back in.”
Peterson, 29, fared far better in his last encounter versus Washington on June 11, scattering six hits and striking out six en route to his first career complete game. He is 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 13 career appearances (10 starts) versus the Nationals.
Washington right-hander Jake Irvin (8-7, 5.14) took the loss in that game after yielding four runs on five hits — including homers to Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto — in six innings. He is 1-3 with a 4.23 ERA in six career starts versus New York.
Like Peterson, Irvin is winless in three August starts. He is 0-2 with a bloated 9.45 ERA following his six-run, seven-hit performance in four innings of a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
The cellar-dwelling Nationals settled for a split of their four-game weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies following an 11-9 setback on Sunday. Washington erased an early six-run deficit to forge a 6-6 tie in the third inning before chipping into a five-run deficit with three runs in the ninth.
“I think it just shows the heart we’ve got,” Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews said, per MASN. “It takes a lot to come out here and play a really good team like that. We do an excellent job of not giving up, especially in the late innings.”
–Field Level Media
