Francisco Lindor still found a milestone on a miserable final day, but the Mets’ 2026 season ended the way too many of their losses did: with the other side finishing stronger.
New York closed out the year Sunday afternoon against the Washington Nationals, with Sean Manaea on the mound opposite left-hander DJ Herz. The club had moved first pitch up to try to get ahead of the nor’easter in the area, only to push the game back an hour because of rain.
The Mets came out hot anyway. Lindor opened the game with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch from Herz, and eventually scored when Carson Benge lined a two-out single to give New York an early run.
That lead didn’t last long. Brady House worked a two-out walk, then CJ Abrams followed with a triple to bring him home and tie it up.
Manaea stopped the bleeding there, leaving Abrams at third.
The second inning turned into a home-run exchange. Ronny Mauricio launched a two-run shot, and Lindor answered with a solo homer that was the 3ooth home run of his career.
But the Nationals kept answering, too. Harry Ford doubled with two outs, and Nasim Nuñez brought him in with an RBI double to trim the Mets’ edge to two.
Washington kept chipping away in the third. Andres Chaparro led off with a homer, then later in the inning Dylan Crews doubled and came around on a Jacob Young single that took a strange bounce off Bo Bichette. Manaea got the final out, but the Mets were suddenly behind.
From there, the game slipped away. The fourth was quiet, and New York did nothing in the top of the fifth.
Then Chaparro struck again, leading off the bottom half with another homer to put Washington back in front. Manaea stayed in to finish the inning, but the damage was done.
The Mets’ starter went six innings and was charged with five earned runs. He allowed seven runs total, walked one and struck out three.
Austin Warren took over to start the seventh, and things quickly got tougher. After an out, a walk and a single put runners on the corners, and House punched a single to center to drive in one and stretch the Nationals’ lead to two.
Warren escaped further trouble, but New York’s comeback path had gotten a lot narrower.
It never opened back up. The final two innings passed without a Mets rally, and the season ended with a loss to Washington.
New York finished 2026 at 74-88, a disappointing mark but one that had been building for a while. The offseason now arrives with uncertainty hanging over the club.
The Mets do have a manager, and their starting outfield appears set for the foreseeable future. Still, Bo Bichette’s opt out is a major question, and the upcoming competitive balance agreement negotiations - and the likely lockout - are already casting a shadow over what comes next.
When the Mets take the field again is anyone’s guess. Maybe 2027.
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The complication for New York is the roster math and the calendar. Mauricio has already used all of his minor league options, he will be arbitration eligible next year, and the team has to decide whether to tender him a contract before the upcoming lockout or consider other paths, including trade talks. Andy Green has praised Mauricios potential while also pointing to the areas he still needs to sharpen, which leaves the Mets weighing present production against long-term control at exactly the wrong time to stall. [Read more 🡒]