The New York Mets faced a tough defeat against the Washington Nationals, falling 12-6 at Clover Park. This game was a nail-biter until the 9th inning, tied at 6, when Douglas Orellana struggled, allowing Washington to score six unanswered runs to seal the deal.
Starting pitcher David Peterson had a rocky outing, surrendering four runs on five hits over four innings. Daylen Lile got the Nationals on the board early with a 2-run double in the 1st inning.
Peterson managed to navigate through some jams in the 2nd and 3rd, but a clutch 2-out, 2-run single by Riley Adams in the 4th tied things up at 4 apiece. Devin Williams provided a steady hand with a clean inning, but Christian Scott ran into trouble in the 6th.
He allowed the go-ahead run without an out, as CJ Abrams' triple set up a score on a wild pitch, leaving the Mets behind 5-4. Scott was tagged with the loss.
The Mets had their opportunities. Ronny Mauricio delivered, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, including a double that brought Francisco Alvarez home in the 1st, and a single that added another in the 3rd, giving the Mets a temporary 4-2 lead.
Alvarez contributed with a double to score Carson Benge and finished 1-for-3 with a walk. Cristian Pache's solo shot in the 2nd was the Mets' lone homer, momentarily putting them ahead 3-2.
Christian Arroyo provided a spark in the 8th, blasting a 2-run homer to left field with the Mets trailing 6-4. His clutch hit tied the game and brought the crowd to life, sending the contest into the 9th inning all square.
Unfortunately, the 9th was all Nationals. Orellana entered with a runner already on second after James Wood's leadoff double.
Joey Wiemer wasted no time, doubling him in to make it 7-6. A hit-by-pitch, a flyout, and a wild pitch extended the lead to 8-6.
Marcus Brown's walk, a stolen base, and Viandel Pena's 2-run single further widened the gap to 10-6. Murphy Stehly and Harry Ford added RBI singles, wrapping up a 6-run inning before Gregori Louis managed to get the final out.
On the pitching front, Cionel Pérez, Clayton Beeter, and Julian Fernández each delivered a scoreless inning, keeping the Mets in the mix until the fateful 9th. Players like Jose Rojas, Vidal Bruján, Jared Young, JT Schwartz, AJ Salgado, Colin Houck, and Hayden Senger saw action as the Mets rotated their lineup. Kevin Villavicencio doubled in the 9th, but the Mets couldn't muster a rally, going down in order to end the game.