Mets comeback falls short against Nationals

In a bit of a roller coaster of a game the Mets fell to the Nationals 6-5 at Port St. Lucie. The Mets jumped out to an early two-run lead when Michael Conforto went deep for the third straight day. They held that lead until the combined efforts of Tim Peterson and Daniel Zamora turned the slim lead into a three-run deficit in the top of the eighth.

The Mets attempted a comeback in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases to start the inning. With one out, Dominic Smith hit a sharp liner the shortstop couldn’t corral for an error and two runs scored. Despite loading the bases again with two-outs when Luis Guillorme walked, Adeiny Hechavarria struck out to end the inning.

Still down a run in the ninth Will Toffey bunted his way on, but with two outs he attempted to take second on a ball in the dirt and Jeff McNeil up. The throw beat him in plenty of time and the ballgame was over.

Some more notes from today’s game:

• Robinson Cano picked up yet another hit and hustled to second when the ball in the outfield was bobbled. He slid awkwardly but stayed in the game and seemed fine afterwards. He is currently batting .475 with an 1.212 OPS.
• The bullpen competition remains open and it seems nobody wants the last spot. One day after Hector Santigo fell apart, Luis Avilan, Tim Peterson, and Daniel Zamora combined for six runs in four innings.
• Kyle Dowdy had a good outing throwing three scoreless innings. He did walk two and struck out two.
• Jeurys Familia got the start and pitched a spotless first. He struck out two and got quite a reaction from Juan Soto after he struck out to end the inning. Familia also started with Toffey at third, one of the men he was traded for.
• Pete Alonso got a pinch-hit opportunity in the eighth when the Mets had two on and were down by three. Alonso smoked a ball up the middle but it bounced off Erick Fedde’s foot and went for an infield single.
• Carlos Gomez finally made his debut but it did not go well. He went 0-2 and struck out with the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth.

Full box score: MLB.com