WASHINGTON — The opponents on this road trip aren’t particularly daunting, giving the Mets a wide opening to continue their recent surge.
Monday night they avoided a letdown following the high emotion of winning the Subway Series, attacking throughout against the Nationals. The Mets won 16-7 in 12 innings for a sixth victory in seven games.
The Mets scored 10 runs during the final inning, piling on against Jorbit Vivas, a position player, after they had built a comfortable cushion.
Carson Benge’s RBI single in the 12th inning brought in the go-ahead run after Hayden Senger’s sacrifice bunt had advanced the automatic runner. Vidal Brujan’s suicide squeeze brought in Benge for an insurance run. Brett Baty delivered the dagger with a two-run single.
The Mets kept going. Marcus Semien, A.J. Ewing, Benge and Bo Bichette all had run-scoring hits to complete the onslaught in the inning.
Semien’s sacrifice fly in the 11th brought in the automatic runner Brujan to give the Mets a 6-5 lead. Brujan, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner, had advanced to third on Baty’s fly out to begin the inning.
The Nationals reclaimed the run in the bottom of the frame on Joey Weimer’s infield single against Huascar Brazobán, on which Brujan at third base attempted a barehanded play and missed.
Brazobán escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th inning, getting Nasim Nunez to ground into a fielder’s choice (with the out at the plate) before striking out CJ Abrams.
Homers by Baty and Bichette were the hits that resonated the loudest, but Taylor, Juan Soto, Benge and Luis Torrens were all instrumental offensively on a night the Mets rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the middle innings.
The Mets carried a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning, but couldn’t hold it. After Brooks Raley surrendered a run in the seventh, Tobias Myers allowed an RBI double to Curtis Mead in the eighth that tied it. Myers had recorded a big out an inning earlier, entering with the bases loaded to strike out Jose Tena. The lefty Raley departed with two outs in the inning after allowing a double and two walks that led to the run on Abrams’ sacrifice fly.
The Mets (21-26) play another three games against the Nats before heading to Miami for three this weekend.
Christian Scott had a third straight start in which he failed to pitch at least five innings. The right-hander was removed after allowing three earned runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over four innings. He threw 81 pitches.
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Torrens’ RBI double in the second gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. The run was unearned after Tyrone Taylor singled and advanced two bases on James Woods’ double error. Woods first misplayed the ball and then overthrew second attempting to nail Taylor.
Scott got two fast outs in the bottom of the frame before drilling Jacob Young in the ribs (Young departed the game). Jose Tena’s RBI double tied it and Drew Millas’ single — following a walk to Vivas — put the Nats ahead 2-1.
Scott encountered additional heavy traffic in the third and allowed another run on Weimer’s RBI double. Brady House singled to begin the rally and Daylen Lile walked with two outs. Lile stumbled rounding third base on Weimer’s double and had to retreat, potentially costing the Nats a run as Scott retired the ensuing batter, Tena, for the third out.
Baty’s homer leading off the fourth pulled the Mets to within 3-2. It was the third homer this season for Baty, who crushed Jake Irvin’s first-pitch sinker 451 feet to center field.
The Mets rallied in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Torrens reached on an error by first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and Benge walked — both runners advanced on Bichette’s fly out — before Soto stroked a two-run single. It continued a hot stretch for Soto (who bunted for a single in the first inning). He began the day 6-for-15 (.400) with two homers over his previous four games.
Bichette’s homer in the seventh widened the Mets’ lead to 5-3. It was a needed contribution for Bichette, who began the day with a paltry .531 OPS.
