Nationals Squander Herz's Gem in second straight Late-Inning Loss to Mets (7-2)

Washington D.C. - Tonight, the Washington Nationals once again collapse against the New York Mets in the top of the 10th, giving up five dropping another one against the New York Mets, 7-2.

The Nationals are now 39-46 overall, 17-21 at home, and 14-12 against teams in the NL East. The Nationals went 1-for-8, with runners in scoring position tonight and left eight on base.

LHP DJ Herz got the start for the Nationals and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits. Herz threw 92 pitches, 70 strikes, faced 22 batters tonight, and struck out 10. Herz got the no-decision tonight, and his record is now 1-2. Getting the loss for the National was RHP Robert Garcia, who now is 0-3 with a 5.60 ERA.

Among all MLB rookies since June 4th, left-handed pitcher DJ Herz ranks second in strikeouts with 37, including his ten from tonight's game. Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes leads with 40 strikeouts.

The New York Mets got their first run of the night in the top of the sixth thanks to Francisco Lindor’s 14th homerun this season to left field with a distance of 403 ft.

In the top of the eighth, the Mets tied up the game thanks to an RBI single from Brandon Nimmo, scoring Francisco Lindor from second after Hunter Harvey gave up a double. The Mets put up five runs in the top of the 10th, putting the game away for the second game in a row.

The Nationals scored their first run in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to an RBI single from CJ Abrams, which scored Nick Senzel after heads-up running. Two innings later, the Nationals scored another run in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to Harold Ramírez’s sixth RBI, scoring Jacob Young from third.

CJ Abrams continues to have success at the plate. Entering tonight’s game, Abrams, over his last 21 games, is hitting .392/.489/.696 with ten doubles, a triple, four home runs, 16 RBI, 12 walks, six stolen bases, and 20 runs scored.

In his second professional game, OF James Wood went 0-3 with a walk and got caught stealing in the bottom of the ninth.

Tomorrow night, the Nationals will continue their series against the Mets at Nationals Park, with the first pitch at 6:45 p.m. EDT as they look to take the lead in the series.

Tomorrow’s Pitching Matchup

The Washington Nationals will send LHP Mitchell Parker to the mound to face the Mets. Parker will enter the game with a 5-4 record and a 3.32 ERA and is tied for fifth in wins and 11th in strikeouts among rookie pitchers this season. He has allowed three earned runs or less in 13 of his 14 career starts.

RHP Christan Scott allowed two runs over 5.0 innings on May 30 vs. Arizona at Citi Field and recorded a no-decision, which was his last outing. Scott allowed four hits, issued one walk, and recorded four strikeouts. Scott made his major league debut on May 4, 2024, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

He recorded a no-decision in the Mets’ 3-1 loss, throwing 6.2 innings and allowing just one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts. He became the third Mets player to make his major league debut this year.

Scott is the first Mets pitcher to pitch at least 6.0 innings in their Major League debut since Steven Matz did so on June 28, 2015, vs the Cincinnati Reds.

Injury update

Before today’s game, in his pre-game press conference, Davey Martinez gave an update on the status of RHP Josiah Gray. Martinez said the Nationals had scheduled an MRI and a consultation with Dallas specialist Keith Meister during the All-Star break for the right-hander. Gray said to reporters, “Honestly, I felt really good going into it,” the 26-year-old said. “And then in between innings, I didn’t feel like I was recovering well. I just felt a little fatigued. Told the trainers, and we tried to get ahead of it. We’ll see what we’ve got when we get the MRI.”

Davey Martinez expressed concern, saying, “I’m a little concerned right now,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We got him ramped up; he looked good. Last outing, the velo wasn’t there. He said he just felt tired. His arm, he felt like he had nothing in there. So we’ll wait and see what happens.”

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