Jeff McNeil smacks three-run blast as Mets complete sweep of Nationals

The Mets beat the Nationals, 4-3, on Thursday at Citi Field to complete a three-game sweep.

Here are the takeaways…

– Jeff McNeilstayed blazing hot, and the result was an early Mets lead.

With two outs and two on in the first inning, McNeil sent a Michael Soroka offering over the wall in right field to give New York a 3-0 lead.

McNeil’s shot went down the line and dropped in the first few rows of seats, driving inFrancisco Lindor and Juan Soto, who had both walked

– Kodai Senga entered his start with a 1.59 ERA, which was the best mark in the National League. And he left the game with the best ERA in baseball, after throwing 5.2 scoreless innings to shrink it to 1.47. Senga allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out five.

Unfortunately, Senga’s exit was due to injury.

On a play at first base with one out in the sixth inning, Pete Alonso led Senga to the bag with a toss after fielding a grounder by CJ Abrams. But Alonso’s throw was high, leading Senga to jump for it before coming down on the bag with his right foot.

Senga immediately grabbed the back of his right leg, near his hamstring area, after landing on the bag.

After staying down for a bit, Senga walked off the field under his own power without much of a limp.

– In a 4-0 game in the ninth inning, Ryne Stanek struggled, allowing three consecutive hits without recording an out. That cut the Mets’ lead to 4-1, and led toEdwin Diaz being summoned for the save.

Diaz bent but didn’t break, issuing a walk and single before getting a pop out and two ground outs to secure the victory.

– Brandon Nimmo‘s home run barrage continued. A night after hitting two homers, Nimmo smacked a solo shot off the foul pole in right field in the fifth inning, which extended New York’s lead to 4-0.

– Sotostayed hot, drilling an opposite field double in the seventh inning. He has seven extra-base hits this month (four homers and three doubles), and his OPS is up to .858.

– Jose Castillo and Huascar Brazoban combined to toss 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Senga.

Game MVP: Jeff McNeil

McNeil has been fantastic all season, and his offensive impact continued to be felt on Thursday afternoon.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets open a three-game series against the Rays on Friday at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes gets the start for New York, opposed by Taj Bradley for Tampa Bay.

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