Mets and Nationals start 3-game series in search of the next spark

The New York Mets’ momentum stalled last week with losses in the final two games of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals.

But the consecutive victories did not give the Nationals the much-needed boost.

Two teams looking for an exciting opener meet Tuesday night when the Mets host the Nationals to kick off a three-game series between the National League East rivals.

Left-hander Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.22 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Jake Irvin (7-6, 2.80) for the Mets in a rematch of last week’s series finale in Washington.

Both teams lost the finale of a four-game weekend series on Monday afternoon. The Mets missed the chance to take a series from the host Pittsburgh Pirates, who won 8-2. The Nationals lost 6-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals and missed the chance to split the set.

New York’s struggles following the exit of rookie right-hander Christian Scott on Monday provided a fitting end to a 2-4 streak that began with Scott’s previous start, a 7-5 loss to the Nationals last Wednesday. Scott played no role in the decision in that game.

On Wednesday, the Mets took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning, but with their bullpen overloaded by the suspension of Edwin Diaz, manager Carlos Mendoza tried to persuade Scott to pitch the sixth inning before allowing a two-out, three-run home run to Luis Garcia Jr. on his season-high 99th pitch.

Mendoza said Scott was limited to 75 pitches on Monday, when he allowed just one hit – a two-run homer by Oneil Cruz – and was retired after 5 2/3 innings of 77 pitches with the score tied 2-2. The Pirates then scored five runs against Eric Orze, who was making his major league debut, and Adrian Houser in the sixth inning before adding another run in the eighth.

The tough performances of Orze and Houser pushed the collective ERA in the Mets bullpen up to 4.13.

“Some games have gotten away from us, but you know what — honestly, that’s the story of the year so far,” said Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who hit a two-run homer on Monday. “We haven’t been able to consistently get wins, and that’s a problem. But we hope to get that under control.”

Last week’s back-to-back wins against the Mets were Washington’s first consecutive victories since a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins from June 14-16. But the Nationals blew a five-run lead in a 7-6 loss in 11 innings to the Cardinals on Friday before needing four pitchers to pull off a 14-6 victory on Saturday in which they scored the first nine runs.

The Nationals didn’t lead in the final two games of the series. After Sunday’s 8-3 loss, Washington was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Monday when All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams made two errors that led to two unearned runs.

“This is a tiring season,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We have to find a way, and the best way to do that is to focus on the little things. We have to start focusing on the little things and not beating ourselves up.”

Quintana and Irvin exchanged zero in the Nationals’ 1-0 win on Thursday, in a game that lasted just 1 hour and 58 minutes.

Quintana played no role in the decision after allowing four hits in seven innings. Irvin allowed just one hit in a career-high eight innings – a single by Jeff McNeil in the third inning – and picked up the win after Jesse Winker hit a home run against Houser in the eighth inning.

Quintana is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in six career starts against the Nationals. Irvin is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts against the Mets.

–Field level media