The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cabrera, Doolittle help Nats top N.Y.
NEW YORK — Nationals closer Sean Doolittle became a favorite at Citi Field after blowing a threerun lead Friday night. Mets fans cheered the AllStar closer when he went to the bullpen Saturday, and on Sunday, they clapped and hollered when his name was announced to pitch the ninth.
“The fans, they were on me a little bit, and it’s all good,” Doolittle said.
Doolittle and the Nationals finally got the last laugh. The lefthander pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 26th save and Washington closed out the Mets for a 74 victory Sunday. The Nats had blown five consecutive save chances in Flushing and entered the game with a 6.07 ERA, worst in the National League.
The Mets ended a seasonbest eightgame winning streak and lost for the second time in 17 games. That magical run had fans drooling with Doolittle coming out of the bullpen, but the 32yearold got back on top of his game in time to hold off a rival NL wildcard contender.
“In a weird way, it relaxed me a little bit,” Doolittle said of the cheers. “I’m at my best when I’m able to have a little bit of fun with it in those situations.”
Asdrubal Cabrera hit a tiebreaking tworun double against his former team and the Nationals bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three innings. The teams will not play again in New York unless they meet in the postseason. The key threegame series averaged 41,492 fans to create a playoff atmosphere throughout the weekend.
Nationals star Juan Soto sprained his right ankle on Cabrera’s basesloaded hit in the seventh inning. Soto went from first to third but turned his right ankle after getting a late stop sign from thirdbase coach Bob Henley. He spiked his helmet, was worked on by trainers in the outfield grass, and ultimately came out of the game. Xrays were negative and Soto’s considered daytoday.
Victor Robles replaced Soto and homered off AllStar Edwin Diaz in the ninth, and Anthony Rendon had four hits.
Jeff McNeil had two hits and two RBIs, but New York dropped 11⁄2 games behind Washington for the top NL wild card.
“We went 61 on the homestand,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “I don’t think you can ask for a better homestand than that.”
Adam Eaton began the seventhinning rally with a oneout single off Robert Gsellman (23). The pesky right fielder moved to second on Rendon’s single and advanced to third when McNeil briefly overran the ball.
After a pitching change, Soto walked to load the bases and Cabrera lined Justin Wilson’s first offering into right field to drive in Eaton and Rendon. Soto was tagged out to end the inning.
Cabrera spent 21⁄2 seasons with the Mets before being traded to Philadelphia in 2018. He opted to sign with Washington instead of returning to New York after being released by Texas.
“Looking at the waiver wire and the DFAs and we were able to pick up a really good player,” manager Dave Martinez said.
“This team has a lot of talent,” Cabrera said. “I’m just here to help the team win.”
The Mets threatened against the beleaguered Washington bullpen in the seventh. McNeil doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on Amed Rosario’s single. Michael Conforto delivered a sacrifice fly to draw the Mets within one, but Daniel Hudson, Wander Suero and Dootlittle combined for 21⁄3 hitless innings to secure the win. Matt Grace (12) pitched onethird of an inning to earn the win.