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**Drucifer** · 24-Sep-2020, 03:50 PM

Corbin, Peterson Get Nods as Nats, Mets Face Off

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals will be looking to rebound following a tough loss in the series finale to the Philadelphia Phillies when they open the final series of the season Thursday at home against the New York Mets.

The Nationals won three of four against the Phillies but were crushed 12-3 on Wednesday. Juan Soto's two-run home run in the ninth was a rare bright spot for Washington, which fell to 23-33.

The defending World Series champion Nationals, who will not be returning to the postseason in 2020, will turn to Patrick Corbin on the mound.

Corbin (2-6, 4.76 ERA) will be making his 11th start for the Nationals. Corbin's 10th start was not very memorable as he allowed a career-high 14 hits to go along with seven runs in six innings on the road against the Miami Marlins.

Corbin is 4-5 with a 4.28 ERA in 16 career games, 15 starts, against the Mets.

"For me, uncharacteristic," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Corbin's previous start. "He threw a lot of balls over the middle of the plate. That's what I saw. His location is not what it typically is, and then when you do, you're going to get hit."

Before the outing, Corbin didn't believe he would allow 14 hits.

"I felt pretty good. I don't know," Corbin said. "Like I said, it was just strange. They came out swinging. It seemed like every inning, they had a couple guys on there. They had some really good swings on me. I think that's probably the most hits I've given up in a game, so just a little frustrating."

The Mets dropped to 25-31 following an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

They'll begin their final four-game series by sending 25-year-old David Peterson to the mound. Peterson (5-2, 3.80 ERA) will be making his ninth start.

Peterson's eighth start was quite impressive as he tossed six strong innings and gave up three hits and one run with 10 strikeouts and four walks against the Atlanta Braves. Peterson threw a career-high 102 pitches and worked 22 swings and misses.

Peterson, a 2017 first round pick, is 1-0 against the Nationals this season with a five-inning outing earlier this season only allowing one unearned run.

"It's been awesome," Peterson said of his time with the Mets. "I've felt ready to contribute in any way possible and in any way the coaching staff and the team asked. It's been a blessing for me to be up here, learn from it and get some experience this year."

Along with Jacob deGrom, the Mets seem to have another reliable starter to lean on, which will build confidence heading into next season.

"He's stepped up," Mets manager Luis Rojas said of Peterson. "He's done it repeatedly. I think his poise, along with his stuff, is what let him work through some of the tough situations that he has encountered in his young career."

In Wednesday's loss, both Todd Frazier and Andres Gimenez homered for the Mets. But they were 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

**Drucifer** · 24-Sep-2020, 03:51 PM

Entering this weekend's final series, Juan Soto has put up an OPS of 1.190, which would be the highest in a single season by a player 21 or younger in MLB history. Soto leads all of MLB in OPS -- he would also be the youngest player in MLB history to lead all players in OPS.
The Mets are averaging 5.37 runs per game on the road this season, fifth best in MLB. However, they have just a 13-14 road record -- their 5.37 scoring average on the road would be their highest in a single season with a losing record.
The Nationals won three of four against the Phillies in their last series, their first series win of at least four games since sweeping the Phillies last season (9/23 to 9/26). Washington has won three series in total this year -- only the Pirates have fewer series wins (2).
Robinson Cano hit his 10th home run of the season on Tuesday against the Rays. He has hit at least 10 homers in all 16 of his MLB seasons, the fourth-longest streak by a middle infielder in MLB history.
Juan Soto and Trea Turner lead all qualified teammate duos in combined batting average this year (.344). Their .344 AVG is on pace to be the highest by any qualified NL duo since the 2003 Cardinals with Albert Pujols and Edgar Renteria (.345 combined).
The Mets could finish with four left-handed hitters hitting .300 or better -- Jeff McNeil (.329), Michael Conforto (.322), Dominic Smith (.314) and Robinson Cano (.312). The last team with four qualified lefties hitting .300+ was the 1994 Yankees. (Cano needs 18 more plate appearances to qualify).

**Drucifer** · 24-Sep-2020, 04:05 PM

Top of 1:
Mets first. McNeil flied out to left fielder Taylor. Davis doubled to left. Smith grounded out, second baseman Lu.García to first baseman Noll, Davis to third. Alonso walked on a full count. Canó grounded out, pitcher Corbin to first baseman Noll.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Bottom of 1:
Nationals first. Turner flied out to right fielder McNeil. Soto grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso. Suzuki grounded out, pitcher Peterson to first baseman Alonso.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 2:
Mets second. Frazier singled to left. Rosario safe at first on fielder's choice plus fielding error by shortstop Turner, Frazier to second. Heredia popped out to first baseman Noll. Chirinos grounded into a double play, shortstop Turner to second baseman Lu.García to first baseman Noll, Rosario out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Bottom of 2:
Nationals second. Gomes lined out to right fielder McNeil. Harrison was hit by a pitch. Noll singled to center, Harrison to second. Harrison was out advancing, left fielder Smith to third baseman Frazier, Harrison out. Noll to second. Taylor struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Top of 3:
Mets third. McNeil lined out to center fielder Robles. Davis lined out to right fielder Soto. Smith doubled to left. Alonso struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Bottom of 3:
Nationals third. Lu.García struck out. Robles popped out to second baseman Canó. Turner struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 4:
Mets fourth. Canó popped out to third baseman Harrison. Frazier grounded out, pitcher Corbin to first baseman Noll. Rosario grounded out, catcher Gomes to first baseman Noll.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 4:
Nationals fourth. Soto walked on a full count. Suzuki grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman Frazier to second baseman Canó, Soto out. Gomes grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso, Suzuki to second. Harrison singled to center, Suzuki scored. Noll popped out to first baseman Alonso.
Runs: 1, Hits: 1

Top of 5:
Mets fifth. Heredia singled to right. Chirinos homered to right on a full count, Heredia scored. McNeil flied out to left fielder Taylor. Davis struck out. Smith doubled to center. Alonso grounded out, third baseman Harrison to first baseman Noll.
Runs: 2, Hits: 3

Bottom of 5:
Nationals fifth. Taylor flied out to right fielder McNeil. Lu.García grounded out, third baseman Frazier to first baseman Alonso. Robles popped out to shortstop Rosario.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 6:
Mets sixth. Canó hit an infield single to third. Frazier popped out to second baseman Lu.García. Rosario walked, Canó to second. Heredia fouled out to right fielder Soto, Canó to third, Rosario to second. Chirinos hit an infield single to second, Canó scored, Rosario to third. McNeil grounded out, second baseman Lu.García to first baseman Noll.
Runs: 1, Hits: 2

Bottom of 6:
Nationals sixth. Turner lined out to third baseman Frazier. Soto doubled to center. Suzuki flied out to center fielder Heredia, Soto to third. Gomes grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Top of 7:
Mets seventh. Davis grounded out, second baseman Lu.García to first baseman Noll. Smith singled to left. Alonso singled to left, Smith to second. Canó grounded out, first baseman Noll unassisted, Smith to third, Alonso to second. Frazier walked on a full count. Rosario struck out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 2

Bottom of 7:
Nationals seventh. Harrison singled to left. On Peterson's wild pitch, Harrison to second. Noll struck out. Taylor grounded out, second baseman Canó to first baseman Alonso, Harrison to third. Lu.García grounded out, first baseman Alonso unassisted.
Runs: 0, Hits: 1

Top of 8:
Mets eighth. Finnegan pitching. Heredia struck out. Chirinos struck out. McNeil fouled out to left fielder Taylor.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Bottom of 8:
Nationals eighth. Wilson pitching. Robles struck out. Turner walked. Soto fouled out to third baseman Frazier. Suzuki grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman Frazier to second baseman Canó, Turner out.
Runs: 0, Hits: 0

Top of 9:
Mets ninth. Harris pitching. Davis singled to center. Smith grounded into fielder's choice, first baseman Noll to shortstop Turner, Davis out. Alonso flied out to center fielder Robles. On Harris' wild pitch, Smith to second. Canó singled to center, Smith to third. Giménez pinch-running for Canó. Giménez stole second. Frazier grounded out, shortstop Turner to first baseman Noll.
Runs: 0, Hits: 2

Bottom of 9:
Nationals ninth. McNeil in as left fielder. Smith in as first baseman. Nimmo in as right fielder. Giménez in as second baseman. Díaz pitching. Gomes grounded out, second baseman Giménez to first baseman Smith. Stevenson pinch-hitting for Harrison. Stevenson doubled to center. Thames pinch-hitting for Noll. Thames struck out. Hernandez pinch-hitting for Taylor. Hernandez singled to left, Stevenson scored. Lu.García grounded out, second baseman Giménez to first baseman Smith.
Runs: 1, Hits: 2

**Drucifer** · 24-Sep-2020, 04:07 PM

Chirinos Homers as Mets maintain Playoff Hopes, Top Nats 3-2

WASHINGTON -- Robinson Chirinos homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Thursday night to keep their flickering postseason hopes alive.

The Mets (26-31) moved within 2 1/2 games of Miami (28-28) for second place in the NL East and within 2 1/2 games of San Francisco (28-28) for the NL's second wild card spot.

David Peterson (6-2) closed his rookie season with his longest outing, going seven innings and allowing four hits and one run while striking out four. He leads New York in victories with two more than ace Jacob deGrom. Peterson is in line to become the sixth rookie ever to lead the Mets in victories and the first since Dillon Gee in 2011.

"Hopefully, it's not over," Peterson said. "Hopefully, we can finish strong and see what happens. It's been a good experience for me."

Justin Wilson worked the eighth, and Edwin Diaz gave up a two-out, RBI single to Yadiel Hernandez in the ninth but escaped further trouble for his sixth save.

Chirinos, acquired from Texas on Aug. 31, began the day hitting .149 with no homers and four RBIs in 67 at-bats between his two stops this season. But he belted a two-run homer off Washington starter Patrick Corbin (2-7) in the fifth, then legged out a two-out, RBI infield single an inning later to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

"Hopefully, we have a chance to get to the postseason," Chirinos said. "I know there's a lot of stuff that needs to happen, but we can only do what we can control."

Corbin threw a season-high 113 pitches over seven innings, yielding 10 hits and three runs while striking out three. Corbin was 0-5 with a 5.64 ERA in five September starts but did go at least six innings in each of his last three outings for the Nationals, who were eliminated from the playoffs Wednesday.

"This is just such a strange season," Corbin said. "I'm starting to feel good, or at least feeling better, trying to build up and now it's the last start of the year. Obviously, I think a lot of us wanted things to go differently. But you try to look at some positives. Finishing on a strong note and ending the season healthy was definitely a big thing for me."

Josh Harrison's RBI single in the fourth accounted for Washington's first run.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: New York placed OF Michael Conforto (left hamstring tightness) on the injured list, ending his regular season. Conforto was hitting a career-high .322 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. He entered Thursday sixth in the National League in on-base percentage (.412), tied for eighth in runs (40) and ninth in batting average. . INF Luis Guillorme was recalled to take Conforto's roster spot.

Nationals: 3B Carter Kieboom said he does not anticipate requiring surgery for his bruised left wrist. Kieboom was injured when he was hit by a pitch Monday and was placed on the injured list the next day.

WELCOME REMINDER

Despite his team's elimination from postseason contention, Washington manager Dave Martinez intends to point out to his players what they've accomplished in the recent past.

"I'll remind them that other than not making the playoffs this year, we did win the World Series in 2019," Martinez said. "That means a lot. That doesn't go away. Let's come back in 2021 and do it again."

Then he pointed to a massive ring on his right hand. "I have this to remind me, too, by the way," Martinez said.

UP NEXT

Mets: RHP Rick Porcello (1-6, 5.46 ERA) has struggled in his first season with New York, but his only victory came at Washington on Aug. 5 when he allowed one run in seven innings.

Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (4-4, 3.67) would finish with a winning record for the 11th consecutive season --- tying Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw for the longest active such streak --- if he beats the Mets in his final start of 2020.