The Washington Nationals and the New York Mets closed out their 5-game series on Sunday afternoon in Washington. All weekend long, the Nationals were able to make comebacks at various stages of the game.
However, they could not either pull ahead or even give the team a chance to come back. That didn't occur this afternoon as the Nationals beat the New York Mets 4-3 with a walk-off RBI single from Carter Kieboom.
The Nationals saw some improved pitching from left-hander Patrick Corbin who has been struggling all season long. Corbin was able to limit the damage and keep the game close so that the Nationals' mountain to climb at the bottom of the ninth wasn't so great.
Corbin pitched 114, went seven innings, gave up 11 hits, three runs, one home run, threw 73 strikes, and got out of jams with Mets runners in scoring positions. To show how effective Corbin and the Nationals defense were during the game, the Mets went 1-10 with runners in scoring position.
Corbin's final line: 7.0 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR, 114 P, 73 S.
While the offense for the Nationals was good, there were many missed opportunities as the Nationals went 3-16 with Runners in Scoring positions. However, when the Nationals needed a run or two at the bottom of the ninth, the team could turn it into high gear and make it count when they needed to. Andrew Stevenson and Carter Kieboom both had solid at-bats that made the difference in the end.
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Carter Kieboom was able to make enough contact with the ball to have it hit off shortstop Fransico Lindor's glove, and Josh Bell was able to score from third to make a comeback complete and end the weekend on a high note after a few blown games. The Nationals left 13 on base all game, committed one error, and a total of 13 hits.
Former Nationals closer Brad Hand made his Nationals Park return this afternoon for the Mets and was able to get a 1-2-3 inning. Edwin Díaz blew the save and got the loss for the Mets.
The Nationals now head to Atlanta to kick off one of their final road trips of the 2021 season. They will head to Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and then return home face to face the Miami Marlins, and the Colorado Rockies, before their last road trip at the end of September.
The Nationals are tied for last place in the NL East with a record of 57-80 and are 15.5 games back of the first-place Braves.