WASHINGTON — This is the vaunted pitching on which the Mets’ 2019 fortunes rest? Only hours after assistant general manager John Ricco stood pat with his best pitchers at the non-waiver trade deadline, expressing a desire to contend next season with a strong rotation, Steven Matz orchestrated an abomination against the Nationals that screamed “sell, sell, sell.” In a historic implosion, the Mets lost 25-4 at Nationals Park. The demolition — which included Jose Reyes entering in the eighth inning for his first career pitching appearance — was the worst loss in Mets history. It topped the Mets’ 26-7 loss to the Phillies on June 11, 1985 at Veterans Stadium. “It’s a tough loss,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “It’s embarrassing. We have got to do better than that.” Reyes allowed homers to Matt Adams and Mark Reynolds in the eighth inning, as the Nationals scored six runs to ensure the worst loss in Mets history. Ryan Zimmerman added levity to the situation, by faking as if he might charge the mound after getting hit by a floating Reyes pitch. “Any time you lose a game and you allow 25 runs and you lose 25-[4], you have to feel disappointed about it,” Reyes said. “You don’t see that too often.” Daniel Murphy tormented his former team with a 3-for-4 performance that included two homers and six RBIs to lead the Nationals’ 26-hit attack. The Nationals scored seven runs in the first inning and kept attacking, padding that lead to 10-0, 13-0, 16-0 and 19-0 after the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, respectively. The Mets finally offered resistance with a scoreless sixth and seventh. Murphy, Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon and Michael A. Taylor all had at least three hits for the Nationals. Jacob Rhame, Tim Peterson and Tyler Bashlor were all clobbered in relief behind Matz, who didn’t even survive the first inning. In the shortest outing of his career, Matz lasted only two-thirds of an inning and allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and one walk. The lefty, who was among the players the Mets made almost untouchable at the trade deadline, allowed two hits to Turner in the first inning alone. “I think I am going through a thing and trying to work through it,” Matz said. “This stuff comes up throughout the season and I just have to find a way to find a way to get through it and I wasn’t able to do that today.” When asked if the “stuff” was fatigue, Matz did not offer specifics. “It’s just stuff you go through during the season,” he said. “Good pitchers find a way to get through it and that is just what I am trying to figure out right now.” A club source indicated the lefty was dealing with dead arm — which is not uncommon this time of the season. It was a third straight unsatisfactory start for Matz, whose ERA has surged from 3.31 to 4.35 since July 12. Tanner Roark’s bases-loaded double for three RBIs was the Nationals’ biggest hit in a first inning that wouldn’t end. Matz was mercifully removed after 32 pitches. The seven runs allowed by Matz matched a career high. “[Matz] was leaving everything over the middle,” Callaway said. “Everything was leaking back over the middle of the plate. It was up and they did some damage.” Jeff McNeil ensured the Mets wouldn’t get shut out by hitting his first major league homer, a solo blast with two outs in the seventh. Austin Jackson hit a two-run blast in the ninth inning for his first homer with the Mets; the veteran outfielder was signed on Friday. Roark dominated the Mets, holding them to one run on four hits over seven innings.<doc-sep>The Nationals had 26 hits in the game, pitcher Tanner Roark even getting in on the fun with two knocks and three RBI. His batting average (.195) is about 20 points higher than that of Reyes, who took the mound for the first time in his career, doing about as well as you might expect and about as well as the rest of the Met pitchers, giving up six runs on five hits, including two long homers to Matt Adams and Mark Reynolds.<doc-sep>The only two relief pitchers who did not allow a run were Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith, who combined to pitch two and a third innings. By the fifth inning, Callaway knew he would need to use a position player to avoid burning through everyone in the bullpen. Noah Syndergaard, who is returning from a stint on the disabled list for hand, foot and mouth disease, was slated to start on Wednesday, so the Mets wanted to keep some relief pitchers fresh just in case. In the sixth inning, Callaway asked Reyes, the struggling backup infielder, if he was willing pitch. Reyes, who had been hoping to get a chance to pitch before he retired, said yes. The last time Reyes, 35, pitched was when he was 11 or 12 years old in his native Dominican Republic. “When you get on the mound and before you throw a pitch, it’s fun,” he said. “But when you start to see people hit a homer and stuff, you get more serious. Even though I’m not a pitcher, you don’t want to see that. I want to put a zero up there. But I do the best that I can.” Juan Soto, the Nationals rookie outfielder, laughed as he stepped in the batter’s box. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, a longtime opponent of Reyes, even faked charging the mound after Reyes hit him with a pitch.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) The Mets have had better nights. After five innings against the Nationals in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night, the Mets are trailing 19-0. Yep, 19-0. It’s the sixth time this season a team has scored at least 19 runs in a game and we’re just past the halfway point. Here’s how the runs scored: 1st inning Bryce Harper RBI double (1-0) Ryan Zimmerman RBI single (2-0) Daniel Murphy RBI single (3-0) Tanner Roark three-run double (6-0) Anthony Rendon RBI single (7-0) 2nd inning Daniel Murphy two-run home run (9-0) Matt Wieters RBI single (10-0) 3rd inning Daniel Murphy three-run home run (13-0) 4th inning Bryce Harper RBI double (14-0) Ryan Zimmerman two-run home run (16-0) 5th inning Anthony Rendon three-run double (19-0) The Mets pitchers on the hook: Steven Matz: 0.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Jacob Rhame: 2.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Tim Peterson: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Tyler Bashlor: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K Jerry Blevins: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K The Nationals are on pace to score 30 runs. That has happened exactly once in baseball history, when the Rangers beat the Orioles 30-3 on August 22, 2007. Wes Littleton famously got the save in that game, pitching three scoreless innings. Update (10:21 PM ET): Jose Reyes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and things devolved from there. Matt Adams hit a two-run home run, Mark Reynolds hit a three-run home run, and Wilmer Difo hit an RBI triple to bring the score to 25-1. The Nationals’ 25 runs are the most a team has scored since that 30-3 game. The Mets stormed for three runs in the top of the ninth, but the game was finalized as a 25-4 loss. Follow @Baer_Bill<doc-sep>
“We figured it out by about the fifth inning,” Callaway said. The solution: multiple relief pitchers and then a position player, Jose Reyes, coming in to pitch the eighth inning. By using a position player, Callaway could save at least one arm, knowing that Noah Syndergaard was starting Wednesday’s game after a stint on the disabled list for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Syndergaard did his part: He allowed three runs over seven innings on Wednesday, and was followed by only one relief pitcher, Seth Lugo. On most nights, relief pitchers wander over to the bullpen by the fourth inning, but on Tuesday night, Jacob Rhame was on the mound with two outs in the first. He allowed six runs over two innings. By the end of the third inning, the Mets trailed, 13-0. “It definitely happened really quick,” catcher Kevin Plawecki said. “Almost like a blur.” After leaving the game, Rhame sat in the clubhouse and brooded over his performance, knowing his uneven pitching created a domino effect on the rest of the bullpen. “I wish my 46 pitches would have lasted longer than two innings,” he said. Tim Peterson and Tyler Bashlor followed Rhame, and the score ballooned to 19-0 in the fifth inning. The announced crowd of 35,029 at Nationals Park thinned out as the game dragged on and a drizzle began. Those who remained cheered on the Nationals’ hitting onslaught. While the Mets finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning when Jeff McNeil, a rookie infielder, smashed the first home run of his major league career to tighten the score to 19-1, the Mets’ broadcasters brushed off a segment they call “media guide musings.” This is what they do when they can no longer discuss the game. Gary Cohen, SportsNet New York’s play-by-play announcer, opened the Mets’ media guide to Page 420 and read aloud passages about the 1969 team that won the World Series. He then passed it to Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, two beloved players from the 1986 Mets team that also won the World Series.