NEW YORK — The smiles that were absent in the Mets dugout finally reappeared on Saturday. With one swing, the weight of the past few days was lifted.
Removed from the starting lineup with a left-hander on the mound, Michael Conforto emerged from the dugout in the seventh inning to pinch-hit in the pitcher’s spot. The Mets were trailing the Nationals by one run, two men were on base and there was one out. The moment was Conforto’s to seize.
Without hesitation, Conforto crushed a go-ahead three-run home run to left field on the first pitch. As the ball sailed over the colorful M&M wall, the weekend crowd of 27,870 woke up and got on their feet. Conforto pumped his arm as he rounded first base, shouting into the loud crowd noise as the Mets turned their one-run deficit into a two-run edge. It was their first lead since Wednesday against the Giants, and it eventually snapped a four-game losing streak.
Conforto’s ninth home run of the year was an overdue exhale, and it allowed the Mets to beat the Nationals, 5-3, on Saturday night at Citi Field. The Mets right fielder, underperforming in his walk year, needed it. The Mets (62-67), struggling to put up wins since the All-Star break, needed someone — anyone — to provide the clutch hit. The buzz that greeted the team in the first half of the season returned to the confines of Citi Field.
Seth Lugo faced the minimum three batters in the eighth thanks to a clean double play and Edwin Diaz shut the door on the Nationals (55-73) in the ninth with his 26th save of the year.
