September's "Linescore Of The Month" Comes Early: Nationals 11, Mets 10

Major league teams leading by six or more runs going into the bottom of the ninth had been a perfect 274-0 this season.

After last night ... make that 274-1.

Mets      - 000 400 015 - 10 11  0
Nationals - 100 001 027 - 11 15  1

Mets!

(h/t to Jere for sending me the linescore)

The Mets led the Nationals 5-4 after eight innings. They added five more runs in the top of the ninth and that 10-4 advantage gave them a 99.7% chance of winning the game. In the Baseball Reference box score (linked above), the Nationals' odds of winning was rounded down to 0%.

The Mets and the Expos/Nationals have both been around for 51 years (since 1969). This is the first game the Expos/Nationals have won in which they trailed by six or more runs in the ninth inning or later. And the Mets are now 806-1 with a six-run lead in the ninth inning or later.

Before this game, home teams (all-time) trailing by six or more runs in the ninth inning were 4-1321.

Mets!

How did it happen?

Top 9th, Mets Batting, Ahead 5-4, Roenis Elias pitching
Brandon Nimmo homers to right-center (6-4).
Joe Panik (cbbf) singles to left.
Pitching change: Daniel Hudson replaces Elias.
Juan Lagares pinch-runs for Panik.
Todd Frazier batting, wild pitch by Hudson, Lagares to second.
E3 on foul ball hit by Frazier.
Frazier (ttcstbffbfbffb) walks.
Luis Guillorme (cb) lines out to left.
Tomas Nido (cc) grounds out shortstop to first, Lagares to third; Frazier to second.
Jeff McNeil (bff) singles to left, Lagares scores (7-4), Frazier scores (8-4), McNeil to second on throw.
Pete Alonso (fc) homers to left-center, McNeil scores (9-4), Alonso scores (10-4).
Pitching change: Javy Guerra replaces Hudson.
Michael Conforto (fbff) flies out to center.

Bottom 9th, Nationals Batting, Behind 4-10, Paul Sewald pitching
Victor Robles (cbfb) singles to shortstop.
Howie Kendrick pinch-hits for Javy Guerra.
Kendrick (bf) flies out to right.
Trea Turner (scb) doubles to right, Robles scores (5-10).
Asdrubal Cabrera (bbc) singles to center, Turner to third.
Mound visit.
Anthony Rendon (b) singles to left, Turner scores (6-10), Cabrera to second.
Pitching change: Luis Avilan replaces Sewald.
Juan Soto (fbb) singles to right, Cabrera to third, Rendon to second.
Pitching change: Edwin Diaz replaces Avilan.
Ryan Zimmerman pinch-hits for Matt Adams.
Zimmerman (c) doubles to right, Cabrera scores (7-10), Rendon scores (8-10), Soto to third.
Michael Taylor pinch-runs for Zimmerman.
Kurt Suzuki (sbbbsff) homers to left, Soto scores (9-10), Taylor scores (10-10), Suzuki scores (11-10).

Suzuki's game-winning three-run home run raised Washington's win probability from 28.9% to 100%. I can search Baseball Reference's Play Index for the most WPA by a player in an entire game (Suzuki's .713 ranks 18th in 2019), but I don't think individual hits are searchable.

Travis d'Arnaud has the highest WPA of 2019: .943, in his three-dong night against the MFY on July 15. d'Arnaud's three-run home run off Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the top of the ninth (like Suzuki, it came on the eighth pitch of his at-bat), with the Yankees one out away from a 4-2 win, was good for .727.

The last time a team allowed five runs in the top of the ninth, then scored five or more runs to win in the bottom of the ninth was June 18, 1971, when the Giants beat the Padres 10-9.

Mets!

Also:

Last Wednesday [August 28], there were six starting pitchers with 10 or more letters in their last names: Foltynewicz, Waguespack, Wojciechowski, Syndergaard, DeSclafani, Zimmermann.

Since 1893 (when the mound was set to its current distance from home plate), no team has had a pitcher record 14+ strikeouts in back-to-back team games ... Until today [September 2] when @JustinVerlander & @GerritCole45 became the first. h/t: @EliasSports