As Tuesday’s fourth inning came to a close, the modest crowd at Citi Field erupted into applause, possibly in disbelief at what they had just seen.
This wasn’t some kind of illusion. The Mets brought ten batters to the plate during the first inning alone, racking up seven runs. My initial irritation faded into a grin. It was a good night for the Mets.
This big inning propelled the Mets to an 8-0 victory over the Nationals, in front of 33,622 fans—far fewer than the official attendance—snapping a three-game losing streak.
Interestingly, even after a commanding sweep against the Rockies over the weekend, the Mets had only managed four runs total, highlighting their continued struggles offensively this season.
Clay Holmes capped off a strong April, throwing six shutout innings, yielding just three hits, one walk, and notching six strikeouts. His ERA now stands at 1.75 after fans saw both Tobias Myers and Craig Kimbrel pitch complete games.
The Mets are in desperate need of momentum. They kicked off this homestand with a series win over the Twins, but failing to perform against the underdog Nationals could fuel calls for manager Carlos Mendoza’s dismissal.
The offensive highlights featured Juan Soto, who hit his first home run since returning from the disabled list just a week ago. His two-run shot in the fourth inning off Zach Littell capped the explosive scoring.
Earlier in the first inning, Bo Bichette launched a home run on the very first pitch, kicking off the scoring with a solo run. This was Bichette’s second home run of the season.
A significant error by Joevit Vivas ignited a seven-run rally for the Mets. With the bases loaded, Vivas mishandled a grounder from Marcus Semien, allowing two runs to score. Carson Benge followed with a two-run homer, extending the Mets’ lead to 5-0.
Ronnie Mauricio singled, pushing the rally further until Bichette hit a sacrifice fly. Soto then smashed his second two-run homer of the season over the left-center field fence, pushing the score to 8-0.
The big inning began when MJ Melendez singled, followed by a walk from Mark Vientos. An error by Vivas then loaded the bases for Brett Batty.
