The New York Mets dropped a tough one to the Nationals on Wednesday night, and the box score tells a story of two players—one struggling mightily at the plate, the other battling on the mound. Here’s what went down at Citi Field.
Francisco Alvarez, the 24-year-old catcher who started the season as one of the Mets' most consistent bats, has hit a serious rough patch. In Wednesday's blowout loss, he went hitless again, extending his slump to 0-for-12. The young backstop had chances to make an impact, but came up empty in key spots. In the first inning, with two on and one out, he struck out looking while the Mets trailed by two. Two innings later, he went down looking again. Then in the fifth, with two runners on base, he grounded into a rally-killing double play—his sixth of the season, matching his total from all of last year. He completed a tough night with a full-count strikeout looking in the eighth.
“He’s a little bit in between here,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s going out of the zone but then taking good pitches to hit—he started off good for us, and then the past week or so it’s been a battle for him.” Alvarez is now hitting just .217 with two doubles, four homers, 21 strikeouts, and a .691 OPS on the season.
On the mound, left-hander David Peterson lasted only 3.2 innings in his return to the rotation, struggling with command before things unraveled after his exit. His night ended after forcing in a run with a bases-loaded walk to James Wood in the fourth. Sean Manaea came in to clean up the mess, but the lefty reliever immediately hit the first batter he faced, then surrendered a grand slam that put the game out of reach. Manaea ate the next two innings and threw 73 pitches, but continued to get knocked around, eventually being pulled after giving up a two-run double to Wood in the seventh.
“He comes in, hit by pitch on a sweeper and then he’s trying to go with a fastball up in the zone and just leaves it right there for the grand slam,” Mendoza said. For the Mets, it was a night to forget—but with a long season ahead, there’s still time for both Alvarez and the pitching staff to find their rhythm.