Herz done in by big inning in tough loss vs. Mets

NEW YORK -- It was a bad night all around for the Nationals on Wednesday. Left-hander DJ Herz had his worst outing of the season and Washington wasn’t able to touch Jose Quintana in a 10-0 loss at Citi Field. The Nats were swept in the three-game series in New York, dropping their record to 68-84.

For Herz, it looked as if he was going to have another strong outing early. He retired nine of the first 11 hitters he faced while striking out four. But then the outing went south in the fourth inning, when the Mets scored nine runs -- including seven off Herz, who exited after 3 1/3 innings.

The first four hitters Herz faced in the fourth reached base, including Mark Vientos connecting for a two-run single. Three of those hitters were behind in the count, 1-2, when they reached base. After striking out Francisco Alvarez for the first out of the inning, more trouble arrived for Herz. The next three hitters reached base, including Luisangel Acuña's RBI single that pushed New York's lead to 4-0.

“When he fell behind, he would walk guys. When he got ahead, he couldn’t put guys away,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Herz. “It felt like everything was speeding up on him. I saw he was getting a little frustrated, so we got him out of there. His pitch count [83] got up there, too, and he couldn’t finish the hitters off.”

Herz left the game with the bases loaded and only one out. He was replaced by right-hander Jacob Barnes, who allowed a two-run single to Starling Marte and a three-run homer to Brandon Nimmo to cap off a nine-run frame

Herz didn’t have answers as to why he couldn’t put hitters away in that forgettable frame.

“I was attacking the zone and getting ahead [in the early innings]," Herz said. "Yeah, that fourth inning, they did a real good job with two-strike hitting. They got me."

Herz said he is going to forget about this one, move on and pitch his last game of the season next week. He has pitched 18 games this season, going 4-8 with a 4.30 ERA.

“I’m going to try to finish strong the best way I can," he said. "It all starts with getting ahead [in the count], attacking the zone, being relentless in the zone and everything will play out how it is supposed to."

On the other side of the ball, the Nationals faced Quintana for the third time this season, and like the previous two games against the Mets left-hander, Washington couldn’t touch home plate in seven innings against him.

“Quintana is an experienced veteran pitcher. He knows what he is doing out there,” third baseman Ildemaro Vargas said via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “When he is at the top of his [game], he controls every pitch. He was throwing the two-seamer inside [and] we would swing at it. … He was dominating the zone, and we were swinging at his pitches.”

For the season, Quintana pitched 21 scoreless innings against the Nationals, allowing seven hits and striking out 10 batters.

“[Today] , we were late on his fastball. I don’t know if it’s the movement or we are looking for something else, but we just didn’t hit the fastball today,” Martinez said. “He doesn’t throw many balls over the heart of the plate. He nibbles a lot, but you have to be ready to hit when he does come over the plate.”

The Nationals finished the season just 2-11 against the Mets. Martinez said New York simply played better baseball against his club in 2024.

“We've got to get better," Martinez said. "We talk all the time about playing in our division. We played some teams really well in our division, and some teams we didn't. We have to get better against them."