WASHINGTON -- Down six runs early, the Nationals rallied in dramatic fashion to stun the first-place Mets for an 8-7 victory on Sunday at Nationals Park after a Pete Alonso throwing error at first base.
Luis Garc¨ªa Jr.¡¯s grounder to first was backhanded by Alonso, but his throw to Ryne Stanek was high above his head, allowing CJ Abrams to score from second base.
"I was running down the line,¡± Garc¨ªa said via an interpreter. ¡°The first thing I thought about is keep my head down, and run as hard as I can and try to get to the bag. Then when I finally looked up and noticed the pitcher was where he was -- and then jumped up and the ball went past him -- I just felt excitement."
Alex Call doubled down the right-field line to lead off the ninth against Stanek to get the rally started.
Pinch-hitter Keibert Ruiz moved the runner to third on a groundout before Abrams tied the game at 7 with a single into right field past a diving Alonso.
But it was Riley Adams that made the rally possible by bringing the game within 7-6 with a three-run homer in the seventh to put an exclamation point on a five-run frame.
¡°That's why you don't give up,¡± Call said. ¡°[Mets starter Tylor] Megill was on his game today. He did a great job. But once he was out of the game, we took advantage."
It was the Nationals¡¯ fourth comeback win of the season and their second walk-off win over the Mets this series. They have won an MLB-high-tying seven games by one run.
"I think that it is a collective group that understands what they need to do to finish games to win,¡± manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°Some of those one-run games, two-run games, there's going to come a point in time [when] we learn how to win those games. I think you are starting to see that now."
Ruiz is normally the starting catcher for the Nationals, so Adams does not get many opportunities in his current role as the backup.
Adams was in the on-deck circle with two on and two out in the seventh inning, his team trailing by five runs. No one would have been too surprised if Martinez had decided to pinch-hit Ruiz for the high-leverage at-bat after Call's RBI single.
But Martinez stayed with Adams, despite a pair of strikeouts to begin the day.
That turned out to be the correct decision.
In just his fourth start in 28 games, Adams connected on Mets reliever Jos¨¦ Butt¨®¡¯s 3-1 four-seam fastball and blasted it over the right-center field wall for his first homer of the season. It had an exit velocity of 109.6 mph and put the Nationals within one run after starter Mitchell Parker gave up seven runs (six earned) in five frames. Washington entered the inning trailing 7-1, but it was that swing that turned the tide on Sunday.
"Personally, I never try to take a big swing,¡± Adams said. ¡°I think sometimes it happens, but [I¡¯ve] never had success trying to hit a ball hard. I have confidence [that] if I am able to get the barrel to the ball, good things are going to happen. It's all I was trying to do there."