Mets takeaways from Friday’s 7-3 loss to Nationals, including a nine-game hitting streak for Francisco Lindor

The Mets‘ bullpen struggled in their 7-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Here are some takeaways from Friday’s game…

1. David Peterson toed the rubber for the Mets and hadn’t allowed a hit until a Josh Bell single in the fourth, but then things unraveled. He allowed three hits and two earned runs that inning, but settled down to retire six of his next, and final, seven batters. He finished with a final line of six innings, four hits, two runs, one walk, and two strikeouts on 78 pitches. He also singled in his first at bat, so they clearly don’t need the DH.

2. Francisco Lindor extended his hitting streak to nine games, as he went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles. He is 15-for-33 (.455) during the streak, and he has had multiple hits in five of those games.

3. Pete Alonso scored from first base on a ground ball that was ruled a triple off the bat of Dominic Smith. Yep, you read that right. Bell misplayed the grounder at first which rolled all the way to the Nationals’ bullpen, and Alonso scored the tying run. J.D. Davis drove Smith in with an opposite-field single, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead.

4. Jeff McNeil doubled to the deepest part of the park in his first at-bat of the game. James McCann drove him in with a two-out single that snuck by shortstop Trea Turner.

5. Robert Gsellman tossed a hitless seventh inning, but the eighth was a struggle. He allowed a long home run to Bell and allowed an RBI single to Gerardo Parra that gave the Nats a 4-3 lead. His ERA this spring is now 5.63 (five earned runs/8.0 innings).

6. The Mets defense made some nice plays, as well:

7. Each Mets starter had at least one hit – Lindor and McCann each had two.

8. Stephen Tarpley allowed a two-run home run to Luis Garcia and an RBI single to Adrian Sanchez in just 1/3 of an inning.

What’s next?

Jacob Barnes will be the opener in Saturday’s game against the Astros at 1:10 p.m.