Mets' David Peterson brilliant, club hits four homers in rout of Nationals
Mets' David Peterson delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Nationals on Tuesday night at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images/Jess Rapfogel
WASHINGTON – It was the mantra that began to feel like a taunt. The players were better than this, the Mets were better than this, and yet, the losses kept mounting.
But then there was Nolan McLean on Saturday and Mark Vientos on Sunday, and Tuesday, looking to build on a two-game winning streak while facing a woeful Nationals team, nearly everyone got in on the fun. David Peterson bounced back from a nightmare outing, Vientos hit the longest homer of his season, and the Mets beat the Nationals, 8-1, at Nationals Park.
“It was nice…playing a complete game, offensively, scoring a lot of runs, allowing Petey to work there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We haven’t played a game like that in a while. It’s a good start [to 16 games in 16 days]. I’ve been saying it, we’ve got good players, we’ve got a good team. We’ve just got to go out there and do it and we did it today.”
Peterson, the nominal ace and not-so nominal workhorse of this rotation, allowed one run and four hits with a walk and season-high 10 strikeouts over eight innings, just one start after getting pulled after 3 1/3. Vientos hit a two-run homer in a five-run third, while Brett Baty, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil all hit solo shots. McNeil went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Save for Pete Alonso, every batter in the lineup reached base against a pitching staff with a 5.35 ERA – second-worst in baseball behind the Rockies.
That, for now, was enough to provide a little emotional boost after Mendoza announced Tuesday that Francisco Alvarez may be lost for the season. Alvarez sustained a UCL sprain in his right thumb sliding into second base in their win over the Mariners Sunday and will be shut down for 10-14 days before the Mets determine whether he can play through the pain or if he’ll need season-ending surgery. The surgery, in any case, is inevitable, Mendoza said; it’s just about the timing.
A resurgence of 2024 Vientos, though, could be a boost the team needs to make up for Alvarez’s absence. Coming into the day batting just .232 and losing playing time because of it, Vientos, who’s been struggling all season, now has six RBIs over the last two games, and has homered twice in that span.
“I know [that version of him] is there,” Mendoza said. “We saw it last year. He’s a really good player and it’s been hard for him…We’re going to need him. He stepped up again today. He’s going to continue to get opportunities.”
Vientos, who’s played in just four of the Mets last 10 games but now two in a row, said he tried staying ready “with practice…
“I’m just focusing on winning. I want to win and whenever I get my opportunity, help the team in whatever way.”
The Mets’ offense busted out for five runs against Jake Irvin in the third, kicked off by Francisco Lindor’s one-out double to the corner in right. Soto walked, and then Brandon Nimmo blooped a single to center to drive in Lindor. Two batters later, with runners on second and third, McNeil lined a fastball to right for a two-run double and a 3-0 lead. That brought up Vientos, coming off a four-RBI game Sunday, and the DH kept the train rolling: He rocketed a hanging 0-and-2 curveball 419-feet to left for a two-run shot, his ninth blast of the year.
Baty tacked on another to lead off the sixth, blasting Irvin’s first-pitch, 90.2-mph fastball 428 feet into the second deck in right-center to make it 6-0; it was his 14th homer of the year. Soto homered off Konnor Pilkington to lead off the seventh, his 31st of the year.
The Nationals finally got on the board in the eighth, when Dylan Crews hit a leadoff triple, Andres Chaparro walked, and Brady House brought Crews home on a 5-4-3 double play. McNeil got that one back with two outs in the ninth, when he hit his 10th homer of the year. The super-utilityman is now hitting .260 with a .795 OPS.
The Mets needed just Ryne Stanek to close it out – a big boost in what should be a grueling stretch.
“We know what’s going to come up,” Peterson said. “I think it’s really important [to go deep]. Every guy goes out there and we’re trying to give the team a chance to win and go as deep as we can…[I’m] confident we can keep the momentum going.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
