Washington Nationals come from behind to win against the Mets, 7-5

Washington D.C. - The Washington Nationals came from behind tonight and won against the New York Mets, 7-5.

With tonight’s win, the Nationals will look to at least even the series tomorrow with the Mets in the morning, with the first pitch at 11:05 am EDT. The Nationals tied the New York Mets with 23 come-from-behind wins with the win.

The Nationals now are 40-46 (4th NL East) with a record of 18-21 at home this season. The Nationals are also 15-12 against N.L. East teams this season and are 20-23 at night.

On the mound, the Washington Nationals started LHP Mitchell Parker in search of his sixth win. Parker went 6.0 innings, giving up five runs on five hits, struck out five, walked none, and faced 23 batters in tonight’s win against the Mets. Parker threw 84, 61 of them being strikes.

Entering tonight’s game, Parker ranked among Major League rookies (min. 65.0 IP) in walks per 9.0 innings (2nd, 2.06), opponent’s on-base percentage (3rd, .277), opponent’s slugging percentage (3rd, .357), WHIP (4th, 1.12), ERA (4th, 3.32), opponent’s OPS (4th, .634), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5th, 3.50) and wins (T5th, 5). Jacob Barnes won for the Nationals tonight as his record improved to 4-2.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Washington Nationals scored seven runs on nine hits thanks to RBI from Luis García Jr.(4 RBI), Ildemaro Vargas (1 RBI), James Wood (1 RBI), and Lane Thomas (1 RBI). The Nationals went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position tonight.

In the bottom of the sixth, with the Nationals trailing 5-1, Luis García Jr. hit a three-run home run, his eighth of the season, to right field that went 397 feet, scoring James Wood and Jesse Winker. Entering tonight's game, Luis García Jr. ranks among NL second basemen in HR (4th) and SB (4th).

James Wood got his first major league RBI and stolen base in the bottom of the seventh, putting the Nationals in the lead and scoring Lane Thomas from second base, who got his own RBI to tie things up for the Nationals. James Wood would finish the night 2-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a single.

The Nationals entered the top of the eighth up one run and assigned Robert Garica to the top of the 8th, who made his third straight appearance this week and held the Mets to no runs. Martinez brought in Hunter Harvey to close out the side. In the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals would add an insurance run thanks to a 423ft Luis García Jr. homer (9) on a fly ball to center field.

In the top of the ninth, Martinez brought in Kyle Finnegan. Finnegan retired the side and got his 23rd save of the season by getting Pete Alonso to fly out, Mark Vientos to ground out, and Luis Torrens to fly out to right fielder Lane Thomas in foul territory.

The Washington Nationals will finish up their four-game series tomorrow on the fourth of July. The Nationals will kickstart MLB’s slate of games as they host the Mets for a special 11:05 a.m. game in the nation’s capital. The game will be simulcast to bases everywhere via the American Forces Network, which reaches more than 400,000 audience members worldwide and at sea as part of AFN’s partnership with Major League Baseball.

Tomorrow's pitching matchup

The Nationals will send RHP Jake Irvin to the mound. Irvin has a 6-6 record with a 3.03 ERA. Irvin is 1-5 with an ERA of 4.36 at Nationals Park this season. Irvin has struck out 24, giving up 20 runs (16 earned) on 39 hits. Irvin ranks seventh in the National League in WHIP (1.06), ninth in ERA (3.03) and 10th in innings pitched (98.0).

The New York Mets will send LHP Jose Quintana to the mound. Quintana is 3-7 with an ERA of 4.57.

Quintana allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 4.0 innings of work on June 28 vs. Houston. The Mets held on to win, 7-2, but Quintana did not receive a decision.

Over the last three starts, Quintana has posted a 1.65 ERA(3 ER/16.1 IP) with six walks and 21 strikeouts. He has earned two wins, and the team is 3-0 in that span.

Lastly, Quintana made five starts in June and went 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA (9 ER/24.0 IP), 11 walks, and 26 strikeouts. The Mets went 4-1 in those starts. Quintana last faced the Nationals on September 5, 2023, and earned the win, allowing one run on four hits with one walk and striking out four over 7.0 innings of work.

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