With Francisco Lindor out and the offense stagnating, Sean Manaea kept the Mets in the game long enough for the offense to get going.
The left-handed starting pitcher allowed just one earned run on four hits and one walk over seven innings, striking out six and laying the foundation for the Mets' 2-1 bottom of the 10th inning victory over the Nationals on Monday night at Citi Field.
“Yeah, that's where it starts. It starts on the mound,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of the pitchers giving the lineup a chance to break through. “But you've got guys behind them that are solid defensively. Manaea was really good again today. And the bullpen. … We're doing a lot of good things right.”
Manaea has allowed three runs or fewer in 16 of his last 18 starts and has pitched at least 6 2/3 innings in nine of his last 10 starts.
After retiring the first six batters he faced, Manaea found himself in a bind in the top of the third inning when leadoff hitter Keibert Lewis singled and Jacob Young reached base on an infield hit.
The Mets nearly got out of the jam with a double play after Nasim Nunez was out on a pop fly to third base, but Manaea said second baseman Eddie Alvarez backhanded the ball off his glove to shortstop Jose Iglesias “was one of the coolest things I've ever seen on the field.”
However, Dylan Crews hit the ball back, leaving runners on third and first.
But Manaea got out of it by striking out James Wood with three nasty sinkers and banging his fist and glove as he came off the mound.
“It definitely feels that way,” Manaea said of how different the final two weeks of the regular season are. “For me, I think we're definitely in a playoff atmosphere. I think we've got to take each day that way. To be able to come out on top one more game would mean a lot. It was a very exciting win.”
The Nationals broke through in the fourth inning when Jose Tena doubled to send leadoff batter Juan Yepes home.
However, Manaea allowed just one more runner on a walk over the final three innings.
Manaea admitted he was following the Braves game and, upon hearing that their NL East rivals were losing 9-0 to the Dodgers, said, “Great, let's keep going. … I've always dreamed of being in this position and to be able to help this team win is huge and I'm enjoying every moment of it.”
