Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
On this night, Patrick Corbin did not have his best stuff and gave up 4-runs over 5.0 innings, and the Nationals could not capitalize against the Mets spot starter Wilmer Font for more than the 2-runs the Nats pushed across. Anthony Rendon did his part in the game, and Yan Gomes‘ bat woke up as he shortened up his swing and served 3-hits over the infielders including an RBI single. Unfortunately, Gomes was stranded each time he was on-base.
The Nationals fell to 9-games under .500 with this loss, and dropped another opening game of a series. The final score was 5-3, but the little things piled up in this game and started early when Trea Turner led-off the game with a long double and Adam Eaton needed to pull the ball and move Turner to 3rd base but he struck out. Turner got stranded, and that missed opportunity loomed large when the Nationals started to claw back into the game.
The defense was good the whole game until the Nationals committed two errors in the 8th inning that pushed across the 5th run for the Mets, and that pushed the game back to a two-run deficit. The Nationals put two runners on in the 9th inning which represented the game-tying runs with no outs, but they were both stranded to end the game when Eaton swung away and flew-out as Turner easily would have had second base stolen to put the tying runs in scoring position. Eaton was ahead in the count 1-0 when he swung the bat instead of taking a pitch, but he said it was a fastball that he thought he could handle. Just part of the little things.
Speaking of Adam Eaton, he and his ex-White Sox teammate, Todd Frazier, were back at it and chirping at each other which is a carryover from last year when Phil Evans suffered a broken leg on an Eaton slide.
Fact is they had been locker-mates but were separated after locker room fight with Wh Sox .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) May 21, 2019
WATCH: Adam Eaton addresses his exchange with Todd Frazier after the #Nats' game against the Mets. pic.twitter.com/vYhiMnu2BG
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) May 21, 2019
One of the bright spots of the game was the Nationals debut of Tanner Rainey who showed a nice combination of a high velo fastball and hard slider. Rainey threw a scoreless 6th inning.
