WASHINGTON — Jake Diekman kept his thoughts to simple math as the bullpen door opened in the ninth inning Monday night with a Mets victory hanging in the balance.
The left-hander had blown the save the previous day against the Diamondbacks on Ketel Marte’s two-run homer in the ninth inning in a harrowing Mets loss.
Diekman had flushed that memory and was now charged with sanitizing Adam Ottavino’s mess.
“Try to get two outs there before they score two,” Diekman said of his mindset.
Diekman got the two outs and Washington scored only once in a nail-biting 8-7 victory for the Mets at Nationals Park.
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Diekman struck out Drew Millas with the tying run at third base and go-ahead run at first to end it, as the Mets (who lead the major leagues with 10 losses when leading after seven innings) narrowly avoided another disaster.
The struggling Ottavino, entrusted with an 8-5 lead, recorded only one out in the ninth and allowed a run before leaving with the bases loaded.
Diekman fell behind 3-0 in the count to Joey Meneses before retiring him on a sacrifice fly.
It took Diekman only three pitches — all four-seam fastballs — to strike out Millas.
“[Diekman] has been in this game a long time and he was able to slow the game down and just think small, one pitch at a time,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He got back in the count and got the sacrifice fly there and back on track for the last out of the game. Hell of a job, especially after the outing he had [Sunday].”
Ottavino’s disastrous ninth undermined what had been a strong night of work by the Mets bullpen.
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The Mets have won only four times in their last 14 games, but in three of those victories Adrian Houser has left an imprint as a reliever.
On this night he pitched 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings in relief before Drew Smith, in his first appearance off the injured list, got the final out in the eighth.
As a starter Houser has pitched to an 8.55 ERA in seven appearances this season.
In his five relief outings he’s been a completely different pitcher, owning a 1.42 ERA.
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Houser also had multi-inning relief appearances against the Giants and Diamondbacks on the last homestand in which he pitched well and the Mets won.
Tylor Megill scuffled in his third start off the injured list, allowing five runs, one of which was unearned, on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts over five innings.
Megill’s chances of working deeper evaporated during a fifth inning in which he faced seven batters but surrendered only one run.
“It’s just one of those starts where the command isn’t there and you try to grind through it and make quality pitches,” Megill said.
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Starling Marte and Mark Vientos walked in succession to begin the second, allowing the Mets to go ahead 1-0 on Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly following a wild pitch.
The Mets loaded the bases in the inning, but Pete Alonso was retired on a deep fly to left to end the threat.
Bader dropped Nick Senzel’s fly ball to deep right-center leading off the second for a two-base error that led to the Nationals tying it 1-1 on Jesse Winker’s RBI single.
Vientos homered against MacKenzie Gore to lead off the fourth.
The blast, which put the Mets ahead 2-1, was Vientos’ fifth of the season — three of which have been hit against lefties.
Francisco Lindor delivered an RBI single in the inning after Jose Iglesias singled and stole second.
Joey Gallo blasted a three-run homer in the fourth that allowed the Nationals to regain the lead at 4-3.
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Senzel and Winker each singled before the Nationals had a call overturned at first base, allowing Ildemaro Vargas to reach and extend the inning.
Vargas was initially ruled out on what would have been an inning-ending double-play grounder.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fifth before Bader’s second sacrifice fly of the night tied it 4-4.
Iglesias’ third hit of the game, an RBI single, put the Mets ahead before Luis Torrens extended the lead to 7-4 with a two-run double.
But Megill barely survived the fifth, allowing a run on two singles and two walks to pull the Nationals within 7-5. Megill escaped with the bases loaded by retiring Vargas for the final out.
Jacob Barnes’ throwing error gifted the Mets a run in the sixth.
Starling Marte singled and J.D. Martinez raced to third, with the throw from right field hitting him.
Barnes grabbed the ball and attempted to nail Marte, who had taken a wide turn at first, and threw it away.
