FLUSHING, NY — For one night out in Queens, the Mets’ bats were awake. More on that soon.
Tuesday night at Citi Field as the Mets shut out the Nationals, 8-0, fans brave and passionate enough to attend witnessed just the 10th win (sixth at home) on the year for the orange and blue.
A horrible start to the season by all means, recording just 10 wins and 19 losses while dropping to the bottom of the barrel in the standings. Players, coaches, ownership and those in the front office know it as well as just about anybody on the outside checking in day to day or week by week.
And much of that has to do with the offense, ranked last or close to the bottom in all of Major League Baseball across a wide-number of statistical categories such as OPS, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and hits, among many others. Then to pile on more, mistakes on the bases and with the glove continuing to creep in.
The Mets have had blunders on the diamond and no show performances at the plate consistently, leading to their rough start to the 2026 regular season – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Analyzing the reasons for how poor the start has been can go on and on, however, the Mets’ bats had to wake up at some point. At least for one night. Especially when one factors in this past weekend, which many viewed as rock bottom, scoring just four runs over a three game set against Colorado, resulting in the Rockies sweeping their way out of Flushing. A Colorado team that finished 43-119 in 2025.
One off day later (Monday), and suddenly, the Amazin’ offense was just that Tuesday–scoring eight runs, a mark only hit by the Mets on five of twenty-nine (5/29) occasions in 2026—recording eight or more runs in a game.
In those five games, the Mets have gone 5-0.
Bo Bichette, loosening up the team by setting the tone early as manager Carlos Mendoza noted, started it all off on the first pitch thrown from Nationals’ right-handed starter Zack Littell, connecting for a first-inning opposite field solo home run.
“He sets the tone, first pitch of the game—you want to get the guys going,” said Mendoza of Bichette’s lead-off home run, the Brazilian-American’s second HR of 2026 and seventh-career lead-off HR.
“The last thing you want, I’m not going to say panic, but the fact that hey, first pitch of the game, you set the tone, and we get the break—you know it loosens it up a little in here. So, it was just good to see.”
Three innings after Bichette set the tone, the Mets’ bats turned it up, driving in seven runs during the home half of the fourth. An 8-0 ballgame after four.
Over the seven-run fourth inning, the Mets put the ball in play and made things happen. One being what seemed like a routine groundball from Marcus Semien to Nationals’ third baseman Jorbit Vivas that snuck under the Venezuelan’s glove, resulting in two runs scored.
Shortly after, Carson Benge got himself in the fold, hitting a RBI single that followed with Bichette driving in the rookie on a sacrifice fly and three-time LatinoMVP Juan Soto smacking a two-run homer—the 27-year-old Dominican superstar’s second HR on the year and first since returning from the Injured List last Wednesday with a calf strain.
“Things got to come together to come through,” Soto said. “After the (Vivas) error, we just capitalized… Sometimes you just need a lucky rock in the middle of the field and it gets you going.”
Since his return from the IL, Soto, also dealing with left forearm soreness, has been slotted in the lineup each game as the Mets’ designated hitter but not in the field due to the training staff being cautious.
“I would love to be in the field and be out there,” he said of his current situation as a DH. “I would say it’s more fun to be out there but when you are DH-ing, you just (have to) take advantage because I know I’m not going to make (play) too many games as a DH. So I just take advantage, take my swings and extra swings in the cage to make sure I’m ready to go.”
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