Game 48: Mets at Nats

After taking two of three from the Orioles over the weekend, the Nationals now open a four-game series with the last-place Mets

It’s an absolute scorcher here today, with afternoon temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s, and it’s supposed to be like this for the next two days as well. So if you’re coming to Nationals Park, please take appropriate measures and stay hydrated. The Nats are taking their own precautions, with no formal pregame work on the field, trying to make sure everyone conserves their energy for the actual game tonight.

After taking two of three from the Orioles over the weekend, the Nationals now face a four-game series with a Mets club teetering on the brink. It’s been a disastrous opening two months for those guys, and they’re still cobbling together their pitching for this series beyond Christian Scott in tonight’s opener. But they also just won two in a row against the Yankees, rallying from three runs down in the bottom of the ninth Sunday for a rousing comeback. Knowing the history of that franchise, this either means they’re about to go on a big run that gives everyone reason to believe again … or they’re about to collapse. The fun is in not knowing which way it’s going to go.

Jake Irvin gets the ball tonight, and he really needs to turn things around after an especially bad start in Cincinnati last week that included a first-inning grand slam and a third-inning hook after his pitch count soared to 86. The right-hander is now 1-4 with a 5.91 ERA and peripheral numbers that look pretty similar to his marks last season, aside from a higher strikeout rate. At some point, he’s got to show he can pitch effectively again.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Mostly clear, 92 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left

METS
RF Carson Benge
SS Bo Bichette
DH Juan Soto
1B Mark Vientos
3B Brett Baty
2B Marcus Semien
CF A.J. Ewing
LF Tyrone Taylor
C Luis Torrens

RHP Christian Scott

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
1B Luis García Jr.
3B Brady House
SS CJ Abrams
LF Daylen Lile
CF Jacob Young
DH José Tena
2B Jorbit Vivas
C Drew Millas

RHP Jake Irvin

PREGAME NOTES

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

ALVAREZ STAYING IN BULK RELIEF ROLE

Three days after pitching in relief behind Zack Littell, Andrew Alvarez remains on the big-league roster. And he’ll remain in the bullpen for at least a few more days.

Manager Blake Butera said the plan is for Alvarez to pitch again sometime this week in the same bulk relief role. The club hasn’t decided on a specific day to have the left-hander do that yet, but it would make sense for him to be paired again with Littell, who has been announced as Wednesday night’s starter.

The Nationals have done this twice now with Alvarez, who pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings behind Miles Mikolas last month against the Giants and then tossed three scoreless innings behind Littell on Friday against the Orioles before allowing two batters to reach in the ninth and getting lifted.

The club sent the 26-year-old back to Triple-A Rochester immediately following his first appearance, wanting to keep him on a regular starter’s schedule. This time, the Nats elected to keep him in the major-league bullpen, though still on something of a set pitching schedule. They haven’t decided yet how long he’ll remain here, or whether they would rather have him starting again at some point.

“We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I just thought it would be good to have him ready to go again (this week),” Butera said. “And as a group, we’ll get together and decide long-term what it’s going to look like. But for now, plan on him staying in that bulk role and taking it day-by-day at this point.”

INJURY UPDATES

Clayton Beeter and Cole Henry are each scheduled to pitch at least once more in relief for Rochester before the team decides if either is ready to come off the 15-day IL. Beeter tossed a scoreless inning on 11 pitches Saturday and is scheduled for another appearance Tuesday. Henry tossed a scoreless inning on 10 pitches Sunday and is scheduled for another appearance Wednesday. Because Beeter has missed less time, he’s likely to be activated before Henry.

Rochester starter Luis Perales had to depart his start Sunday in the fifth inning after getting hit by a comebacker on the right wrist. X-rays taken on that wrist came back negative for a fracture. The hard-throwing 23-year-old, acquired from the Red Sox over the winter for left-hander Jake Bennett, has a 3.31 ERA and 1.160 WHIP in nine games to begin the season.

KING PROMOTED TO AAA

Seaver King, the organization’s first-round pick in the 2024 draft, has been promoted to Rochester after dominating the season’s first two months at Double-A Harrisburg.

King produced at a rousing .336/.427/.562 clip for Harrisburg, reaching base in each of the 35 games he played. This came on the heels of a pedestrian 2025 season in which he slashed a combined .244/.294/.337 between Harrisburg and Single-A Wilmington.

The 23-year-old, who was the 10th overall pick out of Wake Forest two summers ago, has played almost exclusively shortstop as a pro, with five games at second base so far this season. At the time he was drafted, Nationals officials (most of whom are no longer with the organization) touted his positional versatility in college as a possible reason he could be fast-tracked to the big leagues.