The New York Mets (74-87) used three home runs to pull away from the Washington Nationals (76-85) on Saturday afternoon, earning a 7-1 victory at Nationals Park.
Ronny Mauricio delivered the biggest offensive performance, hitting two home runs for his first career multi-homer game. The second came in the ninth inning, when Mauricio launched a two-run shot from the right side of the plate for his third home run of the season.
The Mets had struggled to generate offense through the first six innings against Connelly Early and Jake Irvin before finally breaking through in the seventh. A.J. Ewing and Mauricio hit back-to-back home runs with two outs, putting New York ahead 4-1.
Carson Benge also continued his strong rookie season, collecting three hits. He singled in the fourth, added another single to begin the seventh and hustled for a double in the eighth.
Jonah Tong provided a strong start despite difficult conditions, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over five innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters on 85 pitches. Tong finished his rookie season with a 3.81 earned-run average across seven major league appearances.
The Mets bullpen then shut down Washington, with Dedniel Núñez striking out the side in a scoreless inning before Nate Lavender, Devin Williams and Tobias Myers each helped preserve the lead. Mets pitchers retired 16 consecutive Nationals from the fourth inning through the first out of the ninth.
Brett Baty made his first major league start at shortstop and handled his first chance cleanly before committing an error in the ninth.
Juan Soto left in the ninth after being hit on the right hand by Richard Lovelady. Soto had reached base three times with two singles and a hit by pitch.
The Mets will close the regular season on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. against Washington, with Sean Manaea scheduled to face D.J. Herz.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.