Photo by Lynn G. for TalkNats
These baseball seasons are long, and division rivals face each other 19 times a year which is nearly 12% of all games. MLB has set it up where a team faces their four division rival teams for nearly 50% of the entire schedule. While the Mets have clinched the season series over the Nats, the team from Washington might have the last laugh if the season ends like it looks today. The Nationals are now 7-11 against the Mets after the shocking come-from-behind stunner to walk-off the Mets last night from 6-runs down. The win likelihood for the Mets with one out in the 9th inning was over 99.9% last night. You could go years without seeing a win like that, but this is why we watch the games because “you never know” or as Kurt Suzuki said, “Game’s never over until it’s over.”
Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo‘s wife was on Twitter last night expressing her dismay after Mets fans were tagging players with “go die” messages. Fandom is never easy for the fans on the wrong side of history. Nats fans know this and lived through the four-game sweep in CitiField on May 20-May 23 that had the Nats and their fans feeling empty at 19-31. You can either choose to be negative or stay positive. If the Nats lost last night, the positive takeaways were Max Scherzer finished strong, and Juan Soto has now hit 17 home runs since the All-Star break and has 98 RBIs for the season.
There is so much talk about how someone should be a fan or express themselves especially in a sloppy game like that. Outside of Soto and Victor Robles last night, every other player had some mistake(s) on the negative side of the ledger, and some were larger than others. But in a baseball sense, the game has failure built into every game. One team always loses and most players are on the wrong side of .500. The game is about who fails less and makes fewer mistakes.
“We played a poor game last night, let’s face it,” general manager Mike Rizzo said this morning on 106.7 radio. “It was sloppy. We made mental mistakes. We made physical mistakes.”
Rizzo recognized that even from a poorly played game that you can win, and the team had what Rizzo called an “epic comeback” and a “crazy victory.” This team just does not quit, and that has to be a credit to the coaching staff and manager Dave Martinez for staying positive.
“It’s a credit to that coaching staff for keeping these guys in the mindset they are,” Rizzo said.
On roster moves, Aaron Barrett is with the team today, and Austen Williams was moved to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster for Barrett. He has been away from the Majors since 2015. This video is how Barrett found out he was getting the callup as his Double-A manager Matt LeCroy teared up as he told him. Barrett has been away from Nationals Park for 1,492 if you were keeping count which is just over four full years.
Today is a getaway game as the Nationals will head to Atlanta for a four-game series if the weather cooperates. This 1pm game is only being broadcasted on YouTube.
New York Mets at Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:05 pm EDT
TV: YouTube
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® ( Streaming Internet 869)
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
Trea Turner – SS
Asdrubal Cabrera – 2B
Anthony Rendon – 3B
Juan Soto – LF
Ryan Zimmerman – 1B
Kurt Suzuki – C
Victor Robles – CF
Gerardo Parra – RF
Anibal Sanchez – RHP
