Sean Doolittle got maybe the biggest save of his 2019 season to close out a 7-4 Washington Nationals win over the New York Mets on Sunday.
Doolittle (26 saves, 3.44 ERA) had blown a 6-3 lead on Friday night, giving up four runs in the ninth in what turned into a 7-6 Mets win. Wander Suero, then, was touched up for two runs in the eighth after inheriting a 3-2 lead in a 4-3 New York win.
The ninth was uneventful in the finale, with Doolittle retiring the Mets in order, after getting some insurance help in the top of the ninth, in the form of a two-run Victor Robles homer that boosted a one-run Washington lead to three.
The win didn’t come without some sort of price. Star slugger Juan Soto had to leave the game in the seventh after suffering a lower-leg injury on the bases.
Soto was able to walk off the field under his own power. Manager Davey Martinez said after the game that Soto is day-to-day with a mild right ankle sprain. X-rays on the ankle came back negative, Martinez said.
The win allows the Nats (62-55) to keep pace six and a half games back of first-place Atlanta (70-50) in the NL East race.
Washington also maintains its lead for the first of two NL wild-card spots. St. Louis and Milwaukee are tied for the second spot, and the Mets are a half-game back, with Philadelphia one back and Arizona two games out.
Story by Chris Graham
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