The Nats fell behind 6-0 after one inning but got them all back in the 7th to tie it. Alas, a double and a Daylen Lile error put a runner on third with less than two out in the 8th and the Mets cashed it in with a sac fly to give Washington a 7-6 loss on Sunday afternoon.
It was the second of two errors, which rendered five of the first six runs unearned, though Washington starter Jake Irvin was smoked for a two-run HR and a grand slam by former Nats prospect Jakson Reetz.
Irvin was lifted for Marquis Grissom (see: goofy ST rules), who got the last out of the 1st, then returned to pitch in the 2nd, 3rd, and got two outs in the 4th before he was taken out again in favor of Brad Lord whot got the last out and stranded a runner.
Irvin finished with the aforementioned six runs allowed (one earned) on four hits (two HR) and three walks while getting ten outs.
Lord lowered his spring ERA to 0.93 with two and a 1/3rd scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, no walks, and struck out two.
The loss went to Orlando Ribalta, who was charged with the final, unearned Mets run while pitching the 7th and 8th innings. He struck out three.
Dylan Crews did not start for the second straight game, with Andrew Pinckney manning CF for the entire game, going 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Daylen Lile also played the whole game, reaching base three times on a pair of walks and a Robles and driving in a run. He was 0-for-2 otherwise.
Here’s how the rest of the watchlisters did:
- Elijah Green pinch-ran for Stone Garrett in the top of the 9th and did not score. He also did not strike out.
- Brady House subbed for Paul DeJong in the 6th and singled in the 7th, scoring the second run of the six-run rally.
- Cayden Wallace replaced Luis García Jr. at 2B in the 7th and drew a walk in the 8th.
- Darren Baker followed Alex Call in LF in the 7th and struck out in the 8th.
The Nats and Marlins will split their squads tomorrow, with Washington heading to Jupiter to play Miami for the afternoon game and a vice-versa for West Palm Beach in the evening. Mitchell Parker is expected to start the road game while Shinnosuke Ogasawara is slated for the bump at home.