WASHINGTON — The future of was on display Tuesday night in Washington D.C. For the first time, Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio all found their names on the same big-league lineup card, with the four of them hitting consecutively from Nos. 5-8.
They did not disappoint as the Mets routed the Washington Nationals 11-5 win at Nationals Park.
“We’re baseball brothers,” Baty said. “So it was really cool to see.”
The version of Patrick Corbin that pitches for the Nationals (62-77) today isn’t exactly the same one who was a two-time All-Star in Arizona. Still, the Mets (64-74) have played it safe when it comes to Baty and Alvarez facing left-handed pitching at times during the season. It was also a test for the switch-hitting Mauricio. The reigns are off and all of them passed.
Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, his 22nd of the season, and three runs scored to come out of his late-summer slump in a big way.
He also stole a base for the first time at the Major League level and indicated that there might be more where that came from in the future.
“He was a lefty and he was lifting his leg pretty high there,” Alvarez said of his swipe on Corbin. “I figured I could go.”
Vientos went 1-for-2 with a triple and was hit by two pitches. Baty went 1-for-4 with two RBI and Mauricio went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
“You know it was a big night,” said manager Buck Showalter. “You can tell how close they are and that they’ve been through a lot in the minor leagues together.”
Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso also homered, with Nimmo blasting two shots.
“We’re trying to focus on developing guys for next year,” Nimmo said. “The winning and the losing – it’s all just a product of us going out there and taking care of business and play good baseball.”
The Mets tagged Corbin (9-13) for eight earned runs on seven hits over four innings. He walked one, hit Vientos twice and struck out only two.
They jumped all over Corbin right from the start, scoring four in the first. Alvarez’s three-run shot capped it off. They plated three more in the third with Lindor leading off with his 26th home run of the season. Nimmo homered in the fourth and the ninth. Corbin got through the rest of the fourth unscathed and the Nats went to right-hander Andres Machado to start the fifth and counter right-handed hitters Alonso, Vientos and Alvarez.
Alonso took the second pitch he saw 420 feet into the left-field stands. It was No. 42 on the season and the first baseman is now only three shy of the league lead.
Finally, the Mets were able to give Jose Quintana (2-5) a win.
Quintana, who has pitched excellent since his return has been the recipient of poor run support. The left-hander was rewarded for his quality start, earning the win with a one-run performance over seven innings.
“I knew one day it was coming,” Quintana said. “It was perfect timing.
Sam Coonrod, who was called up Tuesday to take Carlos Carrasco’s spot on the roster, had a tough eighth inning, but the Mets had a big enough lead to be able to withstand his four-run blowup. The defense – led by the efforts of the kids – helped lock things down.
“I was happy with how they played defense, more than anything,” Showalter said. “Brett had a good night at third base, Ronny made a couple of good plays and Alvy has been pretty solid behind the plate blocking.”
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