Pair of Pete bombs lead Mets over Nationals

Max Schezer and MacKenzie Gore matched zeroes through the first four innings of Saturday night’s matchup at Citi Field. While Scherzer held serve in the top of the fifth—helped out by a caught stealing of Luis Garcia by Francisco Alvarez—Gore finally blinked in the bottom of the frame.

Gore struggled with command periodically, and opened the bottom of the fifth by issuing walks to Brett Baty and Alvarez. He nearly escaped the jam by inducing Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor to fly out, but that brought up the suddenly red hot Pete Alonso. Approximately 453 feet later, the Mets had a 3-0 lead.

Scherzer finally tired in the top of the seventh, surrendering a home run to Garcia and some hard outs, but pitched around a double to old friend Dom Smith to complete seven strong frames. Another long home run from Alonso in the bottom of the frame would put the Mets up 5-1, removing any direct drama as to who would record the first post-David Robertson save opportunity for New York. Adam Ottavino would pitch a scoreless eighth and Brooks Raley a scoreless ninth—against a lefty-leaning lineup—to close out the victory.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Pete Alonso, +38.0%

Big Mets loser: Francisco Lindor, -15.0%

Mets pitchers: +33.0% WPA

Mets hitters: +17.0% WPA

Teh aw3s0mest play: Pete Alonso three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, +33.1% WPA

Teh sux0rest play: Luis Garcia double in the top of the second, -9.4% WPA