Game 51: Mets at Nats
It's a rematch between Cade Cavalli and David Peterson as the Nationals try to beat the Mets again and surpass the .500 mark
The forecast once again looks suspect, but the Nationals and Mets managed to play Wednesday night’s game without a drop of rain falling before the final out was record. So perhaps they can pull off the same feat this afternoon and complete the series finale. The Nats are attempting to win three in a row, climb above the .500 mark and improve to 9-4 against the Mets since last summer. Not bad.
One of those recent wins came last month at Citi Field, against David Peterson. The left-hander has traditionally dominated the Nats, but they pounded him for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings during that 14-2 victory. And they’ll face him again today, with the same lineup Blake Butera fielded Tuesday night, aside from James Wood and Daylen Lile swapping DH and left field responsibilities.
Cade Cavalli gets the ball for the Nationals, and he was matched up against Peterson that night in New York, one of his back-to-back, 10-strikeout games. He’ll look to pick up where he left off in today’s rematch at Nationals Park.
I’m actually not at today’s game, taking the day off before flying to Atlanta in the morning for the weekend series against the Braves. Hope the rain holds off, and hope you all enjoy the proceedings and commentary among yourselves.
NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Rain, 61 degrees, wind 12 mph in from center
METS
RF Carson Benge
SS Bo Bichette
LF Juan Soto
1B Mark Vientos
3B Brett Baty
2B Marcus Semien
CF A.J. Ewing
DH MJ Melendez
C Luis Torrens
LHP David Peterson
NATIONALS
LF James Wood
3B Curtis Mead
1B Andrés Chaparro
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
DH Daylen Lile
CF Jacob Young
2B Nasim Nuñez
C Keibert Ruiz
RHP Cade Cavalli
My way less than Mark’s analysis: Tough loss, but these days happen in baseball and Cavalli’s performance may have been a big step forward for him.
In dank, damp late May weather, a stark contrast from the high heat and humidity of the previous three days, the Nationals were vexed by their old nemesis David Peterson. Despite 7 excellent innings from Cade Cavalli, the Nationals fell to the Mets, 2-1 to fall one game under .500. They are now 25-26 heading to Atlanta to take on the red-hot, division leading Braves.
Pitching highlight: Nationals starter Cade Cavalli delivered his best performance of 2026, and perhaps his MLB career. He went 7 innings and allowed only 2 runs, both coming in his one unsteady inning where a hit by pitch, swinging bunt single and two line drive singles plated two New York runs. He impressed in that same innings by striking out Juan Soto in a spot where his day could have unraveled.
Hitting lowlight: Nationals’ hitters just couldn’t get a big hit, or any hit, with runners in scoring position today, going 0-8. They had a chance to get to Peterson early, but left the bases loaded in the first and failed to score with runners on 1st and 2nd with one out in the second. One final chance in the 9th, after Lile’s weather-aided bloop double to lead off the inning went awry as pinch hitter Jose Tena and catcher Keibert Ruiz both made outs with the tying run on third.
Next: Things get considerably tougher for the Nationals as they head to Atlanta for three games in Truist Bank Park against the division hegemon, the Atlanta Braves.
Not sure how to most accurately say this, but Zim’s comments/analysis seems more “global” than Franny. Zim takes you into the mind of a mgr or coach, seeing a more wholistic or inclusive picture, what the reasoning is for moves and strategy. Franny speaks more to the moment. Just explains what is happening immediately. Zim’s responses to Franny show this. Zim is like a good teacher. That is why I prefer Zim as a color analyst