Nationals rally past Mets in 11 innings as Mullins miscue proves costly

The Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 5-3 in 11 innings Saturday at Citi Field, aided by a costly miscue in center field and a late rally capped by Daylen Lile's inside-the-park homer off Tyler Rogers. The two-run sequence in the 11th inning, driven by Lile's sprint around the bases and an automatic runner scoring on the play, delivered the final blow as Washington improved to 5-3 on the day and sent New York to a setback in extra frames.

The Mets appeared poised to swing momentum early, but two errors in the second inning helped Washington seize a 3-0 lead against rookie Nolan McLean. Center fielder Cedric Mullins, acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline, misplayed a fly ball that bounced off the angled center-field wall, a miscue followed by a high relay throw that sailed over catcher Francisco Alvarez as Daylen Lile slid headfirst across the plate for Washington’s first two runs. Mullins later described his mishap as an instinctive play he failed to execute, saying, “My first thought was to make a play on the ball. 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.” The Mets also had other miscues, underscoring a rough day defensively. Center field was a point of attention for Washington in this contest, with Mullins’ misplay highlighting an overall defensive stumble in the early innings. The home crowd also had its attention drawn to Jose Siri, who had been booed Friday night after multiple misplays, a reminder of the tense atmosphere surrounding New York’s outfield defense.

After the 3–0 deficit, New York clawed back with a late three-run rally to force extra innings, but the Mets could not capitalize in the 11th or the bottom of the frame. Washington tacked on its two decisive runs in the top half of the 11th, thanks to Lile’s speed and the fragile nature of the Mets’ defense in the late stretch. The relay throw in the ninth and the error-prone defense in the second provided Washington with just enough cushion to withstand New York’s late charge and send the Mets to a 0-66 mark this season when trailing after eight innings. The Nationals, meanwhile, continued to show resilience in a season where timely defense and timely hitting have often determined outcomes.

In the top of the 11th, Lile delivered the pivotal swing. With an automatic runner on second due to the extra-inning rule, Lile ripped a ball to the outfield that rolled to the wall and allowed him to sprint around the bases for an inside-the-park homer. The ball’s ricochet from the wall created a chaotic moment as the relay throw to the plate eluded Alvarez, and Chaparro—running from second on the automatic start—scored ahead of Lile on the play. It was the final push that would not be answered by New York in the bottom half.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged Mullins’ miscue as a turning point in the early frames, saying, “It’s a tough one there, but once you realize that you have no chance on that play, maybe you give yourself a better chance to play it off the wall. Obviously, even if he stops there, once it hits that part of the wall on an angle like that, and it bounced towards the warning track, towards right field, there’s not much he can do there.” The miscue was part of a broader day that highlighted the Mets’ defense in a critical late-season stretch, particularly at a venue where New York has sought consistency.

The game’s pace and outcome also reflected how the Nationals have capitalized on mistakes, paired with timely baserunning. Lile’s 14.86-second sprint from second to home on the play underscored the importance of speed and aggressiveness on late-inning opportunities, while Mullins’ miscue served as a cautionary reminder of how quickly a game can turn on a defensive lapse. The Mets will need to regroup quickly, especially with the season teetering on the edge of postseason considerations and the need to shore up center-field defense after a day that underscored vulnerabilities in both approach and execution. Image highlights from the night show the tense atmosphere at Citi Field and the moment the ball eluded the Mets’ defense, a sequence that will be remembered as much for its precision as for its miscue.

The Nationals and Mets are set to meet again in the coming days, with New York looking to bounce back and Washington aiming to sustain momentum as the season progresses. The exact sequence that led to the 11th-inning runs—driven by Mullins’ miscue, the center-field defense, and Lile’s dash—will likely be revisited in postgame discussions and on the highlight reels as an example of how a single misplay can escalate into a critical turning point in an otherwise evenly contested ballgame.