WASHINGTON — A lazy afternoon at the ballpark with a comfortable lead turned into a rare bullpen meltdown for the Mets on Sunday.
In the seventh, most of a six-run lead against the Nationals got flushed — through a combination of a ball Juan Soto lost in the sun and ineffective relief from José Buttó.
In the ninth, Ryne Stanek blew his second straight save opportunity, culminating with Pete Alonso’s throwing error that gave the Mets an 8-7 walk-off loss at Nationals Park.
The Nationals celebrate after defeating the Mets on April 27. AP
Alonso fielded Luis García Jr.’s grounder and threw over Stanek’s head as the pitcher covered first, allowing the winning run to score.
It was the Mets’ second walk-off loss to the Nationals in three days.
“We have just got to take it like a man — forget about it and keep moving forward,” Soto said.
Stanek got the call in a ninth-inning save situation for the second time in three days because manager Carlos Mendoza is protecting Edwin Díaz from overuse early in the season.
Stanek allowed a leadoff double to Alex Call before CJ Abrams’ RBI single with one out tied it 7-7.
Starling Marte avoids a tag during the Mets’ game against the Nationals on April 27. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After James Wood walked, Stanek got García to hit a grounder that Alonso fielded and threw over Stanek’s head. Abrams scored the winning run from second base.
“The only thing I control is executing pitches,” Stanek said. “I felt like I did an all right job of that. The results just didn’t go my way today.”
Mendoza pointed to Stanek’s inability to put away hitters after getting ahead in the count.
Tylor Megill throws a pitch during the Mets’ game against the Nationals on April 27. Getty Images
Tylor Megill dominated through six innings, allowing only one hit, but after he returned to the mound for the seventh got burned by a ball Soto lost in the sun for a García leadoff double.
It opened the door to the Nationals scoring five runs in the inning, two of which were charged to Megill.
“It was a tough ball,” Soto said. “It just got in the sun and every time I took a step forward it was getting in and out of the sun, so just a pretty hard fly ball.”
Over 6 ¹/₃ innings, Megill allowed three earned runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
“He was pretty dominant today,” Mendoza said. “And you get to the seventh inning with a pretty comfortable lead there and to not be able to finish things off, it’s frustrating.”
Megill allowed a two-out solo homer to Dylan Crews in the second.
It snapped a 14-game streak in which Mets starting pitchers hadn’t allowed a homer, dating to April 11 when Griffin Canning surrendered a blast to A’s infielder Miguel Andujar.
The Mets jumped on Mitchell Parker for five runs in the first inning, sending 10 batters to the plate, with four walks helping to fuel the outburst.
Ryne Stanek throws a pitch during the Mets’ game against the Nationals on April 27. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Mark Vientos’ sacrifice fly brought in the game’s first run after Francisco Lindor had singled leading off and Soto and Alonso each walked.
Starling Marte walked and Brandon Nimmo’s sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Luis Torrens delivered an RBI single and a second run scored on the play on Crews’ throwing error. Luisangel Acuña’s RBI single extended the lead to 5-0.
Soto doubled leading off the second and Marte’s RBI fielder’s choice widened the lead to 6-0. Torrens’ second hit of the game, an RBI double in the fifth, placed the Nationals in a 7-1 hole.
But the Mets barely got through the seventh with the lead. After Soto lost García’s ball for a leadoff double, Josh Bell delivered a one-out RBI single. Buttó entered and allowed a single to José Tena before Call’s RBI single brought the Nationals within 7-3.
Buttó fell behind 3-1 in the count to Riley Adams, who launched a three-run homer to right-center. Adams, a backup catcher, began the day batting .083 without an RBI.
“The guys that pitched were the guys we had available and we just couldn’t finish the game,” Mendoza said. “We will continue to take care of these guys and guys will continue to get opportunities and get the job done.”
