Mets follow up Max Scherzer trade with ugly loss to Nationals – The Denver Post

Boos rained down early and often Saturday night at Citi Field, where the Mets followed up their trade of ace Max Scherzer with a punchless performance against the last-place Nationals.

Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco surrendered eight runs — including four in the first inning — in his latest ugly outing, failing to get through three innings in New York’s 11-6 loss.

A throwing error by Mets rookie third baseman Mark Vientos on the first play of the game set the tone, and a barrage of hits by the Nationals followed. Joey Meneses recorded an RBI single, ex-Met Dominic Smith added a two-run knock and Stone Garrett lifted a sacrifice fly to account for the first-inning offense.

The booing started during that opening frame and grew louder with every Washington run. The contentious crowd let Carrasco especially hear it after a two-run double by Riley Adams knocked the 36-year-old pitcher out of the game with the Mets trailing 8-1.

Six of the eight runs against Carrasco (3-5) were earned, inflating his season ERA to 6.40. It was the third rough start in a row by the right-hander and the second consecutive game he only lasted 2.1 innings.

Nationals starter Patrick Corbin, who was born in upstate Clay, N.Y., entered Saturday with an NL-leading 11 losses. He allowed an RBI double to Vientos, a solo home run to Tommy Pham and a two-run shot to Fransisco Lindor but lasted 5.2 innings to pick up the win.

Rookie catcher Fransisco Alvarez and Vientos hit back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth inning to conclude the night’s scoring.

Rain delayed the start of the game by an hour and 20 minutes. The wet weather and lopsided loss concluded a deflating day for the Mets, who established themselves as full-blown trade-deadline sellers by sending Scherzer to the Rangers.

Scherzer, 39, was in the second season of a three-year, $130 million deal with the Mets, who hoped pairing the three-time Cy Young Award winner with 40-year-old co-ace Justin Verlander would give them a dynamic one-two punch at the top of their rotation. Instead, Scherzer endured an up-and-down year. His 4.01 ERA is his worst in over a decade.

The trade came two days after the Mets sent closer David Robertson to the Marlins and less than 24 hours after Scherzer said he wanted to speak with the front office about its intentions before Tuesday’s deadline.

The Rangers hope Scherzer can bolster a rotation that is missing Jacob deGrom, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery after leaving the Mets for a five-year deal in the offseason. To acquire Scherzer, Texas traded one of its top prospects in minor-league infielder Luisangel Acuna, the 21-year-old brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr.

Coming off a 101-win season, the Mets entered the 2023 campaign with an MLB-record $360 million payroll and sky-high expectations. Saturday’s loss dropped them to 49-55 and seven games out of the third-and-final NL wild card spot.

The Mets won the first two games of their four-game set against the NL East rival Nationals, who are 44-61. The series concludes Sunday afternoon, with Verlander — also the subject of trade rumors — scheduled to pitch against Washington’s Trevor Williams (5-5, 4.47 ERA).

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