NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 11 - The Washington Nationals fell to the Mets on Wednesday night in a shutout as the club lost its fourth straight game. Jake Irvin and the offense each struggled to find a groove in the mid-week matchup, putting the Nats in a bad spot.

Irvin took the bump, needing a solid start to get in a consistent groove. It looked like he may have had it early, but in reality, he wasn’t quite ready to face the top of the New York order. He walked Brandon Nimmo, and while he struck Juan Soto out, he then immediately allowed a double to Pete Alonso to score Nimmo, putting the Nats in an early 1-0 hole. He had a much-needed 1-2-3 second inning, but allowed a double to Franciso Lindor in the third, setting up the chance for Soto to hit a home run and make it a 3-0 ballgame. Irvin seemed to calm down again before Nimmo took him deep to lead off the fifth, which was the last of the damage the Mets did to him. He got through the inning before being pulled, as Zach Brzykcy entered for the sixth. Irvin departed with four runs allowed on five hits, with three walks, and two strikeouts. His ERA is now 4.21.

Brzykcy pitched a good inning, walking one and striking one out in a scoreless frame. Jackson Rutledge then pitched the seventh and eighth. His first batter, Nimmo, hit another home run to extend the Mets’ lead to five. He settled in, however, as he then recorded six outs, allowing just one additional hit, and no walks. This got the Nats to the ninth, but unfortunately, no bottom of the inning was necessary as the Mets shut the door.

Offensively, the Nats knew they were in for a tough night as they went up against lefty David Peterson, who entered the game with a 2.80 ERA. He would up throwing the first complete game of his career, a shutout, against this righty-heavy Washington lineup. Andrés Chaparro, just recalled yesterday from Rochester, was put in the order as the Nats looked to add some pop from a guy who hits lefties well. He ended up going 0-4 with two strikeouts, as it was simply Peterson’s night against the righties that Dave Martinez sent at him. James Wood (lefty) recorded two hits while also striking out twice, Luis Garcia Jr. (lefty) got two of his own in three at-bats, while Jacob Young and Amed Rosario (righties) each recorded a hit. This means that four of the Nats’ six hits came from lefties, which, while it is awesome for Nats fans to see the lefties succeed, undermines the purpose of sending out a righty-heavy lineup. The Nats finished the night having worked no walks, while striking out six times on a night that was simply not theirs.

The Nats will look to salvage the series tomorrow at 1:10 as Michael Soroka faces Kodai Senga in the series finale. The team will then head home to face the Marlins and Rockies for a seven-game homestand. The team will look to this stretch to get some much-needed wins and momentum.