Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 6-1 Win Over Mets
Check out our three takeaways from last night’s 6-1 Washington Nationals over the New York Mets
As it seems to be case whenever the Washington Nationals (53-36) play the New York Mets in 2016, former Met second baseman Daniel Murphy always seems to find a way to make a difference. Murphy went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI’s and nearly hit for the cycle in last night’s 6-1 win over the New York Mets (47-40) at Citi Field.
Despite a rocky start to the game, Max Scherzer found a way to hold the Mets offense, which was without Yoenis Cespedes, to a mere one run in the first inning. After that inning, Scherzer got into a groove and gave up only two hits over the final six innings.
With Matt Harvey now out for the season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, Logan Verrett got the start for the Mets last night. Verrett was okay, but the Washington Nationals offense did a good job of drawing five walks and turning those walks into runs.
Due to their win last night, the Washington Nationals have assured themselves of leaving New York this afternoon with no worse than a four game lead in the NL East, which is what they had when the series began on Thursday night. Plus, they are 4-2 in six games at Citi Field this season.
Before Gio Gonzalez takes on Steven Matz in the final game of the first half of the season this afternoon (1:10 p.m ET, MASN/TBS), check out my three takeaways from yesterday’s 6-1 win.
Next: The Murphy Show Continues
The Daniel Murphy Show Continues
Once again, the Murphy show invaded Citi Field as the decision to let Murphy go in the offseason continues to haunt the New York Mets. Against the Mets this week, Murphy is 6-for-13 with three runs scored, two home runs, and eight RBI’s. That is only a small sample size compared to the damage he has done all season (.438, 21 hits, six home runs, 19 RBI’s).
It was Murphy who ended up driving in the last four Nats runs of the day. In the third inning, he drove in Ben Revere with a base hit through the shift in right field. Two innings later, after Jayson Werth walked, Murphy hit a double off the wall in right center against Verrett.
With the Mets still within striking distance, Murphy gave the big blow in the seventh with a two-run home run to right field against Antonio Bastardo.
While Bastardo is a left-hander, he has given up two home runs to Murphy in the series, so it makes you wonder why Terry Collins keeps bringing out Bastardo to face Murphy in these situations when he is 6-for-19 with three home runs against the Mets’ lefty.
It is clear that Murphy plays with that extra chip on his shoulder against the Mets and wants to prove a point everytime he faces them. Last night was no different as he came close to hitting for the cycle.
As the announcers pointed out during the FOX telecast, you can make that argument that Murphy is the player that has had the biggest impact on the NL East race right now.
Next: Scherzer To San Diego On High Note
Scherzer Goes To San Diego On High Note
In his final start before his trip to the All-Star Game in San Diego, Max Scherzer picked up right where Stephen Strasburg left off. The Washington Nationals right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run (not earned) on three hits, struck out nine, and walked two on 117 pitches (73 strikes) in the win.
The night didn’t start off well for Scherzer. He walked Jose Reyes on four pitches and Curtis Granderson singled to left center, but both runners advanced a base because of a throwing error by Jayson Werth.
It looked like the Mets were set up for a big inning, but Scherzer was able to avoid another bad first inning by allowing only a Neil Walker sacrifice fly. Even though he hit James Loney, he struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo to end the inning.
The best part about last night’s game for Scherzer was the seventh inning. Even though he was at 112 pitches after a two out walk to Alejandro De Aza, he was able to convince Dusty Baker to keep him in the game to finish the inning. He ended up getting Wilmer Flores to fly out to left for the final out. Here is some of Baker’s conversation with Scherzer:
Scherzer continues to be excellent against the New York Mets in 2016. In three starts, he is 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA, and has 29 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. After a bad start to the series Thursday, Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg were able to throw dominant outings when the team needed them the most, which is what aces do.
Next: Werth's Patience Paying Off
Werth’s Patience Sets Up Murphy
Even though Murphy was the star in last night’s win, the performance of Jayson Werth should not get overlooked. Despite Werth not getting a hit in three at-bats, he was still able to draw two key two out walks that kept scoring chances alive for the Washington Nationals.
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Werth’s two-out walks in the fifth and seventh innings allowed Murphy the opportunity to hit his double and home runs respectively. In the win, Werth saw more pitches (26) than any other hitter in the lineup.
While Werth is having a bad month at the plate in terms of batting average (.194), his plate discipline is what stands out of the number two spot. He has the most walks (ten) of any player in the National League, his .390 on-base percentage is second on the team behind third baseman Anthony Rendon (.400), and he has a .399 on-base percentage when hitting out of the number two spot.
It wasn’t just Werth who showed good plate discipline last night as the Washington Nationals drew five walks against Logan Verrett, with one of them being Scherzer (leadoff walk in the third inning).
The other two walks were by Harper in the second inning (scored on a Clint Robinson sacrifice fly) and an intentional walk in the fifth inning, but that was the only walk which didn’t come back to bite Verrett, who pitched decent in a loss (6.2 innings, five runs, four hits, three strikeouts, five walks).
Next: Recap: Scherzer, Murphy Lead Nats To Win Vs. Mets
In the last two games against Verrett, the Washington Nationals have draw nine walks and scored seven runs. The team did go 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but give Murphy more credit for taking advantage of those opportunities when Werth extended the inning.