With the pregame mood in the ballpark as sullen as it has been all season, Justin Verlander and the Mets gave fans a pick-me-up with a 5-2 win against the Nationals Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
Aiming for his 250th career win, Verlander took the mound against the Nationals unsure whether he would be on the Mets at the end of the week. The Nationals wasted no time taxing that effort, starting the game with back-to-back singles and scoring on an errant throw to second from Omar Narváez. A good defensive play from Jeff McNeil in right field saved another run, but the Mets entered the middle of the first inning down 1-0.