Walk-off loss a game of inches, decisions

WASHINGTON -- A pitch before serving up Trea Turner’s walk-off homer Sunday in a 6-5 loss to the Nationals, reliever Justin Wilson painted a 93-mph fastball just off the outside corner of the strike zone. Umpire Carlos Torres called it a ball and, moments later, Wilson missed his spot badly on the 94-mph heater Turner hit over the left-field fence.

“I clearly could have done without that today,” Wilson said. “But you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. He put a good swing on it. I was hoping it would pull it foul or clang it off the wall, but he got it over the fence. It happens.”

Earlier in the inning, manager Mickey Callaway called for Jeurys Familia to begin warming, but Callaway said he had no intention of using Familia with the bases loaded against the right-handed Turner. Only if Turner reached base would Callaway have “pulled the trigger” on Familia in a matchup with Anthony Rendon.

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The Mets were also navigating the later innings without Seth Lugo, who faced eight batters Saturday, and were hoping to avoid Edwin Díaz, who appeared in each of their first two games. Wilson picked up the extra workload instead; he pitched an inning Saturday, then entered in the eighth inning Sunday and returned for the ninth.

“We really wanted Wilson to just expend everything he had,” Callaway said. “We had the utmost confidence when we signed him that he’s going to get righties and lefties out. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen on one pitch. But he threw the ball great.”

Lineup shakeup

Jeff McNeil's four hits on Saturday were not a consideration when Callaway decided to bench him Sunday for the series finale. Rather than give Brandon Nimmo a rest against left-handed Nationals starter Patrick Corbin, Callaway chose to sit McNeil, reasoning that he would be more likely to chase Corbin’s off-speed pitches out of the strike zone.

“Getting four hits … is never an indicator of how a person’s going to do the next day,” Callaway said. “That’s just how numbers work.”

Nimmo finished 1-for-4 with a single, a strikeout and a run scored against Corbin. McNeil entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh, striking out against lefty Sean Doolittle in his only at-bat an inning later.

Keeping tabs
The Mets recently checked in on both free agent starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel and closer Craig Kimbrel, a source confirmed, though their level of interest remains tepid. The source guessed that most teams have continued to check in regularly with both prominent unsigned free agents.

While Kimbrel would give the Mets additional bullpen depth, he is said to prefer destinations like Boston or Atlanta, where he could easily claim the closer’s job.

Keuchel makes a bit more sense given New York’s lack of rotation depth. The Mets reduced their 2019 payroll by $9 million when they signed Jacob deGrom to a contract extension, potentially providing wiggle room for an acquisition. But they added guaranteed money to their longer-term budgets, and Keuchel, a former Cy Young Award winner repped by Scott Boras, will almost certainly command a multi-year deal.

On the mend
Infielder Jed Lowrie, who has yet to make his Mets debut due to a sprained left knee capsule, spent this weekend in Washington rehabbing with the team. He intends to follow the Mets to Miami and then to New York, where he will take part in the home opener festivities.

After that, Lowrie is unsure. At some point, he will need to travel back to Port St. Lucie to participate in Minor League games. But unlike Todd Frazier (strained left oblique), who appeared in his first exhibition game Saturday, Lowrie is still at least several days or more away from live game action.

In Washington, Lowrie took ground balls, hit in an indoor cage and jogged along the lip of the outfield grass, calling the developments “all positive.” Lowrie has also run on an AlterG treadmill that manipulates the pull of gravity, but has yet to attempt sprints on flat ground.

Up next
The Mets will head to Florida for the second half of their road trip, with a three-game series in Miami. Left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to start the 7:10 p.m. opener Monday at Marlins Park opposite left-hander Caleb Smith. Expect McNeil back in the starting lineup for that game.