Max Scherzer dominated and Pete Alonso provided the offense as the Mets defeated the Nationals, 5-1, on Friday night at Citi Field.
Here are the takeaways…
- MacKenzie Gore has faced the Mets twice this season entering Friday and pitched to a 0.90 ERA in those starts (one run in 10 innings). That dominance continued Friday, with the Mets unable to break through despite getting runners on until the fifth.
After Gore walked the first two batters of the inning, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor would fly out. However, Pete Alonso made Gore pay after launching a 2-1 slider 453 feet over the left-center field wall and giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Alonso would get the Nats again with the long ball, this time in the seventh with a man on base. He took a high fastball the other way and sent the baseball 423 feet to give the Mets a 5-1 lead. Alonso now has 30 home runs for the season, becoming just the second Met (Mike Piazza) to do so in four seasons.
- Max Scherzer, the subject of trade speculation and pitching for the first time as a 39-year-old, kept the Nats down for most of the game. His fastball had late life and it got him out of jams to keep Washington scoreless through six.
The Nats got to Scherzer in the seventh when Luis Garcia took him deep to cut the Mets' lead to 3-1. Scherzer got out of the seventh without any further damage to end his night.
He went seven innings (103 pitches/69 strikes), giving up six hits, two walks, one run but striking out seven batters. Scherzer lowered his ERA to 4.01.
- Jeff McNeil entered Friday’s game 4-for-4 against Gore in his career, and continued that hot hitting picking up a couple of hits off the young lefty. McNeil finished 3-for-4.
Tommy Pham and Mark Canha, whose names have also been used in trade speculation, were in the outfield on Friday. Pham went 1-for-4 while Canha finished 0-for-3 with a walk.
- With David Robertson traded, the Mets didn't need their closer for this game. Adam Ottavino pitched a clean eighth inning and Brooks Raley, in his second consecutive appearance, closed the game in the ninth to give the Mets their second consecutive win and third win in four games.