Rats! With critter in grass, NL East-best Mets beat Nats 4-2

WASHINGTON (AP) — There was no question this rat was for real. So, too, are these New York Mets.

A critter scurried through the outfield grass just before James McCann's sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead score during a three-run sixth inning Tuesday night, and Carlos Carrasco nearly got to the seventh again, helping the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 4-2.

The sight of a creature drew gasps from some spectators, cheers from others, in an announced crowd of 21,955 at Nationals Park, where fans were encouraged to bring their dogs to the game.

“The rat was lucky it was Pups in the Park tonight and not Cat-urday!” team spokeswoman Jennifer Mastin Giglio joked in a text message.

The episode brought to mind one from a year ago — May 8, 2021, to be exact — involving a Mets club on the way to a disappointing 77-85 finish: Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil got into an argument during a game after they combined to flub a grounder. Soon after, Mets players rushed into the tunnel near the dugout.

Here was Lindor's explanation that day: “I was like, ‘I’ve never seen a New York rat.' So we went down, sprinting. I wanted to go see a New York rat, and (McNeil) got mad at me and was like, ’It’s not a rat, it’s a racoon.’”

Hmmmm. Regardless, this time, there was no doubt what was going on during an eventful half-inning, which began with the last-place Nationals ahead 2-0 thanks to Maikel Franco's RBI double — McNeil's relay throw easily beat Yadiel Hernandez home as he tried to score from first — in the fourth, and Riley Adams' solo shot in the fifth.

That was all Carrasco (3-1) gave up in 6 2/3 innings; he began the day as the only pitcher in the majors who had gone more than seven innings in at least two starts.

In the sixth, once Nationals starter Patrick Corbin had been...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Rats-With-critter-in-grass-NL-East-best-Mets-17164001.php