Mets walk off over Nationals in nail-biter

May 30, 2023

New York Mets 2, Washington Nationals 1

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In a battle of the National League East rivals, the New York Mets came out on top of the Washington Nationals by a score of 2-1 on Tuesday night. The Mets scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off single by Brandon Nimmo.

The Nationals took an early lead in the game with a run in the top of the first inning off of Mets starter Chris Bassitt. Bassitt got the first two batters of the game out, but then gave up three consecutive singles to Trea Turner, Lane Thomas, and Joey Meneses to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Mark Canha led off the inning with a single and later came around to score on a double by Jeff McNeil.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth inning when Nimmo came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey got ahead of Nimmo 0-2, but Nimmo battled back to work the count full. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Nimmo lined a single to right field, driving in Eduardo Escobar with the winning run.

The Mets' bullpen was outstanding in the game, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings of relief after Bassitt allowed the one run in the first inning. Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, and Edwin Diaz combined to allow just two hits while striking out eight batters.

With the win, the Mets improved to 30-25 on the season and moved into a tie for first place in the NL East with the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals fell to 22-33 with the loss.

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What's next

The Mets will continue their series against the Nationals on Wednesday night at Citi Field. Taijuan Walker will start for the Mets, while Josiah Gray will take the mound for the Nationals.

The Nationals will then head to Miami to begin a three-game series with the Marlins on Friday night at loanDepot park.