Mets Assured First Last-Place Finish Since 2003

The Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 7-6 on Sept. 25, 2026, assuring the Mets of their first last-place finish in the NL East since 2003. Washington is 76-84 and locked up fourth place; New York is 73-87 after opening the season with a major-league-record $358.4 million payroll. Dylan Crews homered for the Nationals. Carson Benge hit his 20th home run for the Mets and became the first Mets rookie with 20 homers and 20 steals in a season; Bo Bichette also homered for New York. Josiah Gray recorded his first career save in his first outing at Nationals Park in more than two years following Tommy John surgery, working around a two-out walk to Juan Soto and getting Bichette on a soft grounder to the mound. Gus Varland got the win; Jonathan Pintaro took the loss. Rated coverage in the record is center-only (Reuters). A wire summary states Washington has won nine of its last 10; the AP account via CBS Sports says nine of 12. Jonah Tong is listed to start for the Mets on Saturday; Connelly Early is listed to start for Washington off the injured list.