WASHINGTON _ When assistant general manager John Ricco said the Mets planned to build around their pitching, he was not including Jose Reyes.
Yet, there Reyes was in the eighth inning Tuesday night firing 48 pitches ranging from 49-87 mph in the worst loss in Mets history.
Hours after the Mets kept their four standout pitchers, they suffered their most lopsided loss in team history, a 25-4 thumping by the Nationals at Nationals Park. The Mets (44-60) trailed 19-0 through five innings and lost by at least 20 runs for the first time.
Reyes allowed six runs in the ninth as the Mets set their new low mark.
Perhaps it's fitting in this lost season that hours after the Mets passed on blowing up the roster they suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of the season. Ricco said the Mets planned to build around their pitching next season, and the pitchers responded by serving up batting practice all night long.
Steven Matz, one of the pitchers the Mets retained, produced the worst start of his career by allowing seven runs while recording only two outs. Though the Mets defense failed him, he surrendered a bases-clearing double to pitcher Tanner Roark.
Matz hurled only 32 pitches.
Jacob Rhame then allowed three runs in both the second and third innings before Tim Peterson surrendered three more in the fourth inning. Tyler Bashlor yielded another three in the fifth inning to put the Mets in that 19-0 hole.
Ex-Met Daniel Murphy smashed a two-run homer in the second, and a three-run homer in the third that gave the Nationals a 13-0 lead.
Jerry Blevins produced the Mets' first clean inning in the sixth, and the Mets finally got on the board in the seventh with Jeff McNeil's first career homer, a solo shot to right.
Washington led 19-1 in the eighth when Reyes entered and pitched for the first time in his career. He surrendered a two-run homer to Matt Adams, a three-run homer to Mark Reynolds and an RBI triple to Wilmer Difo. He now owns an ERA of 54.00
The 21-run loss passed the previous record from the team's 26-7 loss to the Phillies on June 11, 1985. Washington fell two hits high of also setting that record.
Infielder Wilmer Flores left Tuesday's game in the first inning due to dizziness and dehydration. He botched two plays that led to the ugly first inning.
