If the Mets want to return to the postseason, they need to beat teams like the Nationals, who have one of the worst winning percentages in the Major Leagues. But the clubs’ latest matchup turned out t

The Mets called on their All-Star closing pitcher, Edwin Diaz, to hold the Nationals in the top of the tenth inning — and he delivered. Diaz stranded the ghost runner at second base, inducing three outs on just seven total pitches.

Soto’s thunder obscured much of the night’s sloppiness by both teams in the Mets’ 12-6 victory over the Nationals.

A Nationals roster loaded with rookies and a bunch of others with only slightly more experience stepped into the cauldron that is Citi Field on a Friday night in late September, recognizing it was going to require both productive and clean baseball to take down a Mets team fighting for its postseason life right now.

Just when it looked like the Mets might finally win a game in which they trailed after eight innings, the unthinkable happened.

Juan Soto couldn’t hide his frustration after the Mets’ eighth-straight loss. Here’s a video of Soto slamming his helmet.

The playoffs have started early for the Cincinnati Reds, who pulled aggressive levers all night to beat the Chicago Cubs and inch toward playoff spot.

Jacob Young made a pair of sensational catches in center field to prevent extra-base hits as the Washington Nationals hung on and handed the New York Mets a costly 3-2 defeat.