Mauricio’s two homers, Ewing’s three-run shot lift Mets past Nationals 7-1

The game turned all at once in the seventh

For six innings, Washington had exactly the kind of game it wanted: a 1-0 lead and a New York lineup leaving chances behind. The Nationals scored first in the third when Abimelec Ortiz lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Nasim Nunez, and Connelly Early kept the Mets off the board through his three innings. But the lead vanished quickly in the seventh. Francisco Alvarez and Carson Benge came around on Ewing’s homer to right-centre, a 396-foot drive that turned a quiet afternoon into a 3-1 Mets advantage.

New York did not stop there. Mauricio followed later in the seventh with a solo homer to right, pushing the margin to 4-1, and the Mets added a fifth run in the eighth when Benge scored on shortstop Nasim Nunez’s fielding error with Brett Baty reaching safely at first. Mauricio delivered the last hard statement in the ninth, driving a 384-foot homer to right that also scored Ewing. What had been a one-run game became a six-run finish on three swings and one defensive mistake.

Tong set the tone, and the bullpen kept it there

The offensive burst will take the headline, but Jonah Tong gave it room to matter. He worked five innings, allowed three hits and one run, walked one and struck out nine. Washington never managed an extra-base hit against him, and only James Wood solved him more than once. Wood finished 2-for-4, Brady House went 1-for-3, and that was the Nationals’ hit column for the day.

After Tong, New York’s relief work was sharp and uncomplicated. Dedniel Nunez struck out all three batters he faced in the sixth. Nate Lavender and Devin Williams each followed with a scoreless inning without allowing a hit, and Tobias Myers recorded the final out listed with another strikeout. Altogether, Mets pitching piled up 13 strikeouts while limiting Washington to three singles, one walk and one run.

Our take: New York’s patience finally cashed in

The most interesting part of the Mets’ afternoon is that the final score still undersells how much traffic they created. New York sent 41 men to the plate, worked four walks, saw 164 pitches and stranded 15 runners. That is a lot of missed opportunity for one game, and for six innings it kept Washington alive. Then the power showed up and erased most of the earlier waste in a hurry.

That late surge came from more than one spot. Benge had the steadiest day, going 3-for-5 and scoring twice. Mauricio supplied the thunder with two homers and three RBIs. Ewing matched him with three RBIs on one swing and also scored twice. Juan Soto added two hits, while Alvarez reached and scored ahead of the decisive blast. If there is one reasonable area for improvement on the Mets’ side, it is turning baserunners into runs before the game reaches the late innings; the three home runs covered for a lineup that had plenty of chances well before the seventh.

Washington needed more contact and cleaner finish

For the Nationals, the clearest problem was not subtle. They struck out 13 times and finished with three total bases, which means every hit was a single. CJ Abrams struck out three times, Dylan Crews struck out three times and Yohandy Morales struck out twice. Washington did force New York pitchers to throw 138 pitches overall, but patience on its own was not enough when so few balls were put in play with authority. The club also left 10 runners on base, so even its limited traffic never turned into sustained pressure.

The pitching line tells a similar story of a game that stayed manageable until it suddenly wasn’t. Early gave Washington three scoreless innings at the front, but Jake Irvin was charged with five runs over five innings and served up two of the Mets’ three homers while throwing 101 pitches. Lovelady then allowed two more runs in the ninth, including Mauricio’s second homer. Add in the eighth-inning error that brought home Benge, and the Nationals wound up paying for both missed bats on the mound and a missed play in the field. Against a lineup that kept forcing deep counts, that combination left almost no margin at all.

Scoring moments

1. 3rd Inning

   Ortiz hit sacrifice fly to right, Nuñez scored.

2. 7th Inning

   Ewing homered to right center (396 feet), Benge scored and Alvarez scored.

3. 7th Inning

   Mauricio homered to right (411 feet).

4. 8th Inning

   Benge scored on error, Baty safe at first on fielding error by shortstop Nuñez.

5. 9th Inning

   Mauricio homered to right (384 feet), Ewing scored.