Instant Analysis: Nats 8, Mets 4

CJ Abrams and Jacob Young homered, and the Zack Littell-Andrew Alvarez tandem was effective again as the Nationals got back to .500

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

The Nationals got themselves back to the .500 mark. And they did it with a systematic victory over the Mets that included power, clutch hits, quality pitching and strong defense.

CJ Abrams ignited the offense with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first off rookie right-hander Zach Thornton. His teammates then manufactured three more runs over the middle innings, getting an RBI single from Keibert Ruiz in the second, and two sacrifices (a fly by Daylen Lile and a safety squeeze by Nasim Nuñez) in the sixth to open up a four-run lead.

That was enough support for the pitching tandem of Zack Littell and Andrew Alvarez, who once again joined forces to hold the opposition in check. (Well, everyone except for Juan Soto.) Littell went five innings, allowing only Brett Baty’s RBI single and Soto’s solo homer. Alvarez took over in the sixth and posted two zeros before becoming Soto’s latest victim on a towering, two-run homer into the second deck.

No problem, because Jacob Young answered Soto’s two-run homer with one of his own, his sixth of the season. That gave Alvarez enough cushion to retake the mound for the ninth and finish off the first four-inning save in club history.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: There were several to choose from, but let’s go with the obvious: Abrams’ three-run homer in the bottom of the first. He turned on a 2-1 cutter from Thornton and drove it to right for his 10th homer of the season. It’s also his fourth career homer off a pitcher making his MLB debut (in nine such head-to-head matchups). Abrams now has 42 RBI through 50 games, putting him on pace for 136 this season. That would not only be a club record, but it would shatter Abrams’ career-high mark of … 65. (Yes, it makes a big difference that he’s batting cleanup now instead of leadoff.)

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: The Littell-Alvarez combo is working out pretty well, isn’t it? The duo paired up for eight scoreless innings Friday against the Orioles (before Alvarez was charged with two runs in the ninth). And they teamed up again tonight to enjoy similarly impressive results. Littell did give up some more loud contact; there wasn’t a single groundball hit off him. But there were only two runs by the Mets over five innings, and Littell needed only 60 pitches to get there. Alvarez then took over and did exactly what he’s done every time the Nats have called him up from Rochester: Get big-league hitters out. The lefty retired seven of the first eight batters he faced in relief. He did serve up that eighth-inning homer to Soto, but Blake Butera trusted him to return for the ninth and close out the game.

NOTABLE: Over his last seven games played, Keibert Ruiz has increased his OPS from .506 to .768.

UP NEXT: The forecast once again will be suspect when the series wraps up Thursday at 4:05 p.m. Cade Cavalli starts for the Nats. The Mets have yet to announce their starter. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM