Jacob Young made two incredible catches in center field, Nasim Nunez hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run second inning and the Washington Nationals potentially made things more difficult for the New York Mets in the National League wild-card race with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Nationals (64-92) won the final two games of the three-game series over the Mets, whose lead for the third wild card is a half-game over the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were hosting the Chicago Cubs in a game that started an hour late because of rain.
Young robbed Brett Baty of a hit to open the fifth and Francisco Alvarez of a tying homer for the first out of the ninth.
On Baty’s would-be hit, Young took a bad route to the ball and made his initial catch as he raced back to the fence. The ball popped out of Young’s glove and he kicked it with his right foot back into the mitt to complete the catch.
In the ninth, Young raced back and made a leaping grab on Alvarez’s ball just before it hit the railing.
Daylen Lile started the third with a single and scored the first run when Francisco Lindor committed a throwing error on a double by Jorge Alfaro.
Two batters after Alfaro doubled, Nunez hit a 1-0 fastball and the ball carried over the left field fence for the shortstop’s third homer.
The Nationals beat the Mets for the fourth time in the past five meetings.
In the third, Cedric Mullins hit an RBI single that saw left fielder Lile crash into the fence in foul territory. Lile screamed in pain and was later ruled out with a left knee contusion.
Lindor hit a solo homer in the sixth to get the Mets within one run, but New York went 4-5 on its final homestand of the season and lost for the 15th time in 23 games since completing a three-game sweep of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies Aug. 25-27.
Washington starter Jake Irvin (9-13) allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings to halt a personal six-game losing streak. The right-hander struck out five, walked two and earned his first win since July 27.
Mitchell Parker stranded four runners in 3 2/3 innings to earn the save.
Mets starter Sean Manaea (2-4, who was activated off the paternity list, allowed three runs on four hits in three-plus innings. He struck out three, walked none and exited after first baseman Pete Alonso committed New York’s second error of the contest.
