Rain only delays Nationals’ agony in loss to Mets

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NEW YORK — If the Washington Nationals were going to beat the New York Mets on Thursday night, they were going to have to wait out a torrential downpour that started in the bottom of the eighth inning. And when they returned to the field 97 minutes later, they were going to have to weather the metaphorical storm that preceded it.

Kyle Finnegan had just completed a jog from the bullpen toward Manager Dave Martinez when lightning bolts flashed in the distance. Players went to respective dugouts. The bases were loaded after Mason Thompson allowed three hits and hit a batter en route to giving up the tying run. There was one out. It was perhaps the best cliffhanger imaginable.

“When [umpire Vic Carapazza] came out, he said: ‘Hey Davey. In about two minutes, it’s about to downpour.’ And he said: ‘We’re going to get the tarp on the field,’ ” Martinez said. “We can’t control Mother Nature, and it is what it is. The boys battled. I thought Josiah [Gray] threw the ball really well, which was awesome. We just got to start swinging the bats.”

When the game finally did resume — after Finnegan warmed up and jogged from the bullpen again — Mark Canha stepped up to the plate amid “Let’s Go Mets” chants. His sacrifice fly scored Pete Alonso and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. They eventually won by that score, giving the Mets a glimmer of hope as they make a last-minute push to save their season before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

“Trying to get a ground ball there or something shallow,” Finnegan said. “He got just enough on it. Looking back at it, I thought it was a good pitch. He just made a play for his team and got it out there enough to score the run.”

This weekend’s slate of games is extremely important for a handful of teams across the major leagues. After Thursday’s games, five teams (Giants, Phillies, Reds, Diamondbacks, Marlins) were within a game of each other for the three National League wild-card spots. The Chicago Cubs won to get to .500.

Every win could push them toward being buyers, while each loss could sway them in the opposite direction. This even applies to the Mets, who are six games under .500 and seven games out of the last wild-card spot but had high expectations coming off an 101-win season. After Thursday’s game was over, the Mets reportedly traded reliever David Robertson to the Miami Marlins for a pair of prospects. How they fare this weekend could determine how much more of a sell-off they have.

But with Gray on the mound for the Nationals, the Mets looked as if they were on pace to lose another game.

To beat Gray, the Mets stacked their lineup with seven lefties. And to shut down the Mets, Gray relied heavily early on his cutter — the pitch he added in the offseason to get lefties out instead of relying so heavily on his four-seam fastball. He threw 44 pitches in the first two innings, 23 of which were cutters. But he went with a four-seam fastball to get Brandon Nimmo to pop out with the bases loaded to end the second inning.

That wasn’t the only scare Gray would encounter over the course of his outing — Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit flyouts in the third inning that sent the Nationals’ outfielders to the warning track. But that was the last major threat. Gray retired eight of the final 11 batters he faced by effectively mixing his cutter with the rest of his arsenal. He threw 40 cutters, 28 sliders, 14 sinkers, 12 four-seam fastballs, nine curveballs and three sweepers.

“Obviously, cutter is a pitch I utilize a lot to [lefties] as well as the slider,” Gray said. “Didn’t do as many curveballs today, but I was feeling good with the stuff we were throwing. Got in a groove with Keibert, and we were on the same page. The game plan changes game by game, outing by outing, batter by batter, honestly. But today the cutter felt really good. Even my misses with the cutter were well executed. So we’ll see what the next outing brings.”

Gray lowered his ERA to 3.27 in the process and allowed just two hits — as did Mets starter Kodai Senga. Senga kept the Nationals off balance with his forkball, but the Nationals didn’t need many hits to score their lone run in the sixth inning.

CJ Abrams walked and Jeimer Candelario reached because of catcher’s interference before Joey Meneses singled to load the bases for Keibert Ruiz. Ruiz chased a forkball from Senga that was nearly at his ankles but hit enough of it to drive in Abrams with a sacrifice fly. Then Gray got through the sixth inning before the bullpen was left to handle the rest.

Before Thursday’s game, Martinez announced that Tanner Rainey and Carl Edwards Jr. will throw simulated games Friday. Thaddeus Ward, also sidelined with shoulder inflammation, is throwing from 105 feet on flat ground and is expected to throw a bullpen session Friday. He will throw only fastballs and change-ups.

Rainey reached another milestone in his rehab from last year’s Tommy John surgery, and Martinez said that the hope is that the team can get him into games by the end of August or early September.

Edwards, who has a 3.69 in 32 appearances, is recovering from right shoulder inflammation. He entered the year as a potential trade candidate given that he’s a free agent after this season. His trade value probably will be lower because he’s injured, though it’s not impossible that a team desperate for a reliever comes calling for his services.

If he’s not traded, his return to this bullpen would be a great asset for the Nationals down the stretch. But on Thursday, Martinez had to rely on who remained. Jordan Weems recorded two outs in the seventh inning before rookie left-hander Jose A. Ferrer got Nimmo to fly out to end the inning with a runner on second.

But Thompson struggled after he recorded the first out of the inning. And after the delay, despite Finnegan’s best efforts, the Mets were able to pull ahead. The Nationals had one more chance in the ninth, but the Mets escaped with a win by the slimmest of margins and stayed alive for another day — with important decisions looming.

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