Red-hot Mets stay steady with another rout of Nationals
Mets' Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte celebrate their 10-0 win against the Washington Nationals in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The standings tell a tale of dominance, and so did the scoreboard Tuesday night.
The Mets put together 17 hits, hit two, two-run homers, and won their fifth in a row in their 10-0 victory over the Nationals. They have a 10 1/2-game lead in the NL East, they’ve won 13 of their first 16 series and earned their league-leading eighth shutout.
But despite the absolute sledgehammer this team has taken to the opposition, the way they’re winning is almost delicate: little singles, good baserunning, a solid spot start from Trevor Williams, and a bullpen that’s picked up the slack despite heavy use and injuries.
“They have confidence in their approach and what’s going on,” Buck Showalter said. “I think our guys have a real healthy respect for the everyday, the everyday grind. You’re only as good as your last at-bat, your last game, and respect for how good the players are at this level and how quickly you can go from the penthouse to the outhouse. I respect that mentality.”
There’s a new hero every day, and Tuesday it was Mark Canha, who went 4-for-5, with two RBIs and two runs, matching a career high for hits in a game. Jeff McNeil was 3-for-4 with two runs, and Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar both hit two-run homers.
Meanwhile, Williams (1-3), in his fourth start this season, pitched five scoreless innings, with three hits, two walks and one strikeout. The righthander, who shifted to a relief role when he came to the Mets last year, earned himself at least another start, Showalter said. Drew Smith, who hadn’t pitched since Sunday because of a dislocated pinkie, had four strikeouts in 1 2⁄3 innings.
“That’s the reason we like Trevor,” Showalter said. “He just says, what do you need me to do? He emptied the tank there. He knew he was toward the end. It does bode well in the future. That’s how you get more opportunities and the ball on a consistent basis.”
Williams’ start was particularly valuable because the Mets pitching depth was in dire straits. They’d used no fewer than three relievers in their previous four games, for a total of 15 2⁄3 innings, and, before the game, that meant the team was forced to option Dominic Smith to Triple-A Syracuse for Adonis Medina, who pitched the ninth.
“It’ll give him a chance to see if he can get back to the things he’s capable of,” Showalter said of Smith, who was slashing .186/.287/.256 with five extra-base hits in 86 at-bats. “Hopefully, he can do that and I have a lot of confidence he will and get him back up here helping us.”
The Mets opened the scoring on Marte’s 431-foot homer in the first and tacked on two more runs in the third, after Patrick Corbin (1-8) loaded the bases on three straight one-out singles. With two outs, Corbin appeared to hit Luis Guillorme to score a run, but a manager’s challenge brought it back. No matter, not when you’re as hot as Guillorme is: The second baseman came right back and singled the other way to score two and make it 4-0. Guillorme came into the game hitting .426 with a .500 on-base percentage in his previous 25 games.
Canha’s bases-loaded double in the fifth plated two more. Francisco Lindor followed with a two-run single, extending his RBI streak to nine games. Escobar’s homer in the sixth capped the scoring.
“We’ve had a lot of games this year where we’ve put up crooked numbers and I think we do a really good job with that,” said Canha, now hitting .307. “We preach in our meetings to not try to do too much and chip away and have good at-bats and don’t try to just go up there and hit homers all day and let it come naturally. That’s really impressive, not just to talk about it but then go out there and do it is another thing.”
Their ability to produce despite so many challenges — injuries to their rotation, their bullpen, some key lineup guys and their starting catcher — has been exciting, Williams said.
“It’s a testament to the guys in this clubhouse,” he said. “You have your established role and you have the role where you’re coming in and helping in any way possible.”
It seems people step up no matter what role they play, he added. Just look at the Mets' leadoff spot, which continues to produce despite shifting personnel (Canha led off Tuesday).
“It’s special right now seeing those guys come up and put together some really good at-bats,” Williams said. “I’m going to ask Buck tomorrow if I can hit leadoff and get me some hits, as well.”
He’s joking, but the way this team is going, that wouldn’t be shocking, either.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
