Lile’s inside-the-park dash seals Nationals’ 11-inning victory over Mets amid defensive miscues

Washington Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer in the 11th inning, delivering two runs that propelled Washington to a 5-3 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field on Saturday. The decisive hit came off Mets reliever Tyler Rogers, capping a late rally that erased a three-run deficit and handed New York its latest defensive collapse.

The ball that started the decisive sequence surfaced in center field, where Cedric Mullins misread a routine fly and watched it zip over his head before ricocheting off the wall toward right field. Lile sprinted around the bases after the misplayed ball, with automatic runner Andrés Chaparro scoring from second on the same play as Mullins’ miscue helped fuel a Nationals rally. Mullins, who was acquired from Baltimore at the trade deadline, said he attempted to read the ball off the wall and protect against the wall’s odd angle, but the play got away from him.

"My first thought was to make a play on the ball," Mullins said. "We were playing a little shifted over because Rogers is a unique pitcher, so the defensive alignment is a little different. He put a good swing on it, and I thought I got a decent jump. Once I realized that I wasn’t gonna have a play, I tried to stop myself to be able to read it off the wall. Just got up on me pretty quick."

Two errors in the Mets’ second inning helped Washington seize a 3-0 lead against rookie Nolan McLean, putting New York in a dire position despite a late comeback attempt. Center fielder Jose Siri’s earlier struggles had the home crowd buzzing, with booing echoing after a string of misplays the night before. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called Mullins’ miscue a tough break, noting that the ball’s unusual angle and bounce limited any realistic closing option once it crossed the wall toward the warning track and into right-center field.

The Mets failed to capitalize in the bottom half, failing to score and pushing their record to a painful 0-66 this season when trailing after eight innings. The late-inning miss kept New York mired in a season-long stumble as Washington’s relief corps closed out the win.

Mullins, asked about the play after the game, emphasized that baseball often requires instinct and quick reads, even when the ball is not hit cleanly. Mendoza reiterated that, given the trajectory of the ball off the wall and the angle of the bounce, Mullins had limited options once it got past him.

The loss underscored a recurring theme for the Mets this season: defensive lapses contributing to losses in close games. The club has struggled to maintain consistency at the most important moments, and this outing offered a stark reminder that even strong offensive nights can be wasted when defense falters late and in extra innings. Mullins’ transition to New York at the trade deadline has added a new dimension to the lineup, but the Mets’ defensive shell remained porous on this afternoon.

As Washington padded its lead late, the Mets will look to regroup in the coming days, hoping to stabilize a defense that has shown it can be costly even when the offense offers moments of life. With plenty of games remaining and the standings tight, New York will need sharper play in the field if it hopes to avoid further heartbreak in tight late innings.