Mets Morning News: Mets drop series finale to Nationals

Meet the Mets

Noah Syndergaard did not have his best stuff, but he managed to complete five innings while allowing just one run. Upon his departure, the Mets led the Nationals 3-1, but in the eighth inning, Bobby Parnell allowed three runs, resulting in a 4-3 victory for Washington.

Choose your recap: Amazin' Avenue short and long, MLB.com, ESPN New York, New York Post, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger

Terry Collins took the blame for the loss during the post game press conference. With the benefit of hindsight, he stated he should have brought Jeurys Familia in to relieve Parnell.

The Mets are reportedly interested in San Diego Padres outfielder Will Venable. The left-handed hitter is currently hitting .248/.316/.392 with six home runs and 22 RBI. Meanwhile, there is very little chance the Mets acquire Ben Zobrist, wrote Bob Klapisch.

Relief pitcher Jack Leathersich is being evaluated, and may require elbow surgery. After making 17 appearances in the majors, he was demoted to Triple-A, and threw 57 pitches in an outing. He has not pitched since.

Around the NL East

You can read a recap of yesterday's game from the Nationals' perspective at Federal Baseball.

The Phillies defeated the Rays in extra innings by a score of 5-4. Odubel Herrera had the winning hit in the 10th inning as a pinch hitter for Jonathan Papelbon.

The Braves fell to the Dodgers 3-1. Julio Tehran allowed three runs over seven innings while striking out 11, but the Atlanta offense was unable to do much against Mike Bolsinger.

The Marlins defeated the Diamondbacks 5-3. Jose Fernandez went seven innings and struck out 11, and also hit an RBI double.

Around MLB

The Cardinals have expressed some interest in Marlins reliever Steve Cishek. After a poor start to the season resulting in a demotion to Triple-A, Cishek has since improved his performance.

Mike Trout returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game due to soreness in his heel. It was the only game he has missed in 2015.

Just after being activated from the disabled list, Royals starter Jason Vargas tore an elbow ligament. To replace him, the Royals recalled Yordano Ventura, who had been sent down the day before.

Jonah Keri examined what has made Zack Greinke so effective this year, particularly in his current stellar stretch.

Michael Baumann wrote about the joy of witnessing Albert Pujols playing well again.

Yesterday at AA

Episode 129 of Amazin' Avenue Audio with Jeffrey Paternostro came out.

This Date in Mets History

July 23 is a good day for former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. In 2008, Reyes hit a three-run home run to propel the Mets to a victory over the Phillies. Three years earlier, he went four-for-five with a triple in a win against the Dodgers.