Mets fall apart against Nationals as they enter sell mode

The Mets hinted they were waving the white flag when they traded away their closer, but it is now abundantly clear that they are in sell mode by shipping Max Scherzer off to Texas before the game. With drama happening away from the field, there was still a game to be played, and like so many before it, this one turned ugly quick as they went on to lose 11-6 to the Nationals.

Carlos Carrasco was terrible once again on the mound although he was not helped out by Mark Vientos who is proving he should never be allowed near the field. But with the team in sell mode, and the games not mattering anymore, now is the time to find out what he is capable of defensively. The Mets were already down 5-0 by the second inning and after his error, Vientos put the Mets on the board with a double in the second.

It didn’t get better in the third and Carrasco exited after giving up eight runs in 2.1 innings, six of which were earned. Carrasco does not resemble a major league pitcher at this point with his ERA sitting at an unsightly 6.40, but there’s not much the Mets can do. No team will want to acquire him at the deadline and with the rotation thin there’s nobody to replace him.

The organization could, however, potentially get something for Tommy Pham who hit his tenth home run of the year in the fourth which was a solo shot against Patrick Corbin.

Francisco Lindor also went yard in the fifth, and Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez went back-to-back in the ninth, but just like the season, the Mets were just too far behind for it to do much good. They attempted a big inning in the eighth but with runners on Buck Showalter pinch-hit Daniel Vogelbach for Mark Canha, and Vogelbach struck out to end the inning. Last year’s trade deadline acquisition replaced this year’s trade bait and didn’t come through. C’est la vie.

In a shocking turn of events, after Carrasco exited, the bullpen actually stopped the bleeding. Reed Garrett did the bulk of the heavy lifting when he entered in the third. He allowed an inherited runner to score, but was otherwise fine. He pitched 2.2 innings and struck out three while not giving up any more runs. Dominic Leone, Drew Smith, and Trevor Gott all pitched an inning each and together they did not give up any runs. Unfortunately the bullpen is going to bullpen and Grant Hartwig had a terrible time of it in the ninth. He led off the inning by hitting the first batter he saw and it was all downhill from there. When all was said and done he gave up three runs in the inning to put the Nationals up 11-4 so Vientos and Alvarez’s home runs just made the score a little but more respectable when it was all over.

While the play on the field resembled much of what fans have witnessed from the 2023 team, this had to have been a tough game to play in for those who know their season is over and there will be no playoffs come October.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Francisco Lindor +8.2%
Big Mets loser: Carlos Carrasco -44.2%
Mets pitchers: -42.9%
Mets hitters: -7.1%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos RBI double in second
Teh sux0rest play: Dominic Smith RBI single in first