The New York Mets' struggles continued Thursday as they dropped their 17th game in the last 20, falling 5-4 to the Washington Nationals. C.J. Abrams delivered the decisive blow with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, sending the Mets to a 10-21 record—the worst in Major League Baseball through April.
The game started with a defensive gem from Nationals rookie James Wood, who leaped at the right-field wall to rob star slugger Juan Soto of a home run in the first inning. That momentum carried Washington to an early 2-0 lead, with Jorbit Vivas scoring on a wild throw from Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta and Jacob Young driving in another run with a single. Abrams added an RBI single in the third to stretch the lead to 3-0.
But the Mets showed fight, clawing back in the third inning when MJ Melendez crushed a three-run homer off Miles Mikolas to tie the game. Mark Vientos then gave New York a 4-3 lead in the sixth with an RBI double. However, the bullpen couldn't hold the advantage—a recurring theme for a team that has now lost 10 games this season when leading at some point.
In the eighth, Luis García Jr. singled off reliever Luke Weaver (2-1), and after a fielder's choice, Abrams launched a hanging changeup 403 feet to right-center field. The Mets threatened in the bottom half, but reliever Gus Varland escaped the jam, stranding Soto on second and striking out Ronny Mauricio with the tying run on base to earn his second save.
The loss caps a disappointing 3-6 homestand for the Mets, who opened the season with baseball's highest payroll at $358.4 million. Their .323 winning percentage through April is the fourth-worst in franchise history, trailing only the expansion 1962 team and the 1964 and 1981 squads.
New York now heads to California for a nine-game road trip, starting Friday against the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Christian Scott (0-0, 6.75 ERA) takes the mound for the Mets, while the Angels counter with Walbert Ureña (0-3, 4.76 ERA). Meanwhile, the Nationals welcome the Milwaukee Brewers, sending Jake Irvin (1-3, 4.85 ERA) to the hill.