Ronny Mauricio officially brought the fireworks to D.C. on Saturday afternoon, smashing two homers and powering the Mets to a 7-1 victory over the Nationals. But man, the win felt a little bittersweet, with Juan Soto forced to exit in the ninth after getting hit in the hand by a pitch. This game was a rollercoaster.
Mauricio Ignites the Offense, Benge Keeps Building His Case
Ronny Mauricio, playing in a rare big-league start, really made the most of it. His first career multi-homer game? You love to see it! He and A.J. Ewing went back-to-back with two-out blasts in the seventh, finally breaking a quiet six innings against Connelly Early and Jake Irvin to make it a 4-1 ballgame. Ewing’s shot was a big three-run bomb. Mauricio wasn’t done; he left the yard again in the ninth with a two-run shot from the right side. That’s just his third major league homer this season, but this guy is clearly heating up.
And let’s talk about Carson Benge. He’s not just making tremendous catches in the field, building that Rookie of the Year case. He also collected three hits, singling in the fourth, again in the seventh, and then busting out a hustle double in the eighth. This kid is relentless.
Tong Shakes Off Trouble, Bullpen Locks It Down Hard
On the mound, Jonah Tong had us on the edge of our seats early on. He struck out four batters in the first two innings, looking great. Then the third inning hit: a hit-by-pitch, a single, and a wild pitch put two Nats in scoring position with nobody out. Yikes! But Benge made another incredible catch, and Tong buckled down for his fifth and sixth strikeouts, escaping with only one run against him. After giving up a leadoff single in the fourth, Tong totally found his groove, retiring the next six hitters through the fifth. He closed his day strong with just one run allowed on three hits and a walk, hitting a career-high nine strikeouts on 85 pitches. With a 3.81 ERA across seven big-league outings, that’s serious stuff for the young righty.
The bullpen behind Tong? Absolutely lights out. Dedniel Nunez earned the victory, striking out the side in his scoreless inning. Nate Lavender came in and threw a perfect inning. Devin Williams had a strong second outing back from injury, and Tobias Myers put the finishing touches on it. Mets pitchers retired an astonishing 16 consecutive Nats from the fourth to one out in the ninth. Talk about shutting them down!
Soto’s Injury, Baty’s Debut, and What’s Ahead
Now, for the bad news. In the ninth, Juan Soto got hit on the right hand by a Richard Lovelady pitch and had to leave the game. He was clearly in discomfort, and you just hate to see that. Soto had a good day before that, reaching base three times with two singles and that HBP. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious. The team needs him healthy.
Also, Brett Baty got his first start at shortstop, waiting seven innings for a chance. He handled a routine grounder cleanly, throwing Keibert Ruiz out at first. He did boot one later in the ninth on the backhand, but hey, first start at a new spot. There will be adjustments.
The Mets and Nats close out their season series on Sunday. Sean Manaea gets the ball against D.J. Herz at 3:05 p.m. Can the Mets finish strong and carry this momentum forward, or will the Soto injury cast a shadow? We’ll find out!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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