3 Things That Stood Out During Nationals' Series Win Over Mets

There were three notable bright spots during the Washington Nationals series against the New York Mets.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have now won back-to-back series after taking two out of three against the New York Mets.

Considering the Nationals were bludgeoned in Game 1 of this set, it was impressive to see them rebound and win the final two. They got a gem from Cade Cavalli in Game 2 to set up a rubber match in the finale, and ultimately the offense and pitching staff did enough to win this series against Juan Soto and their NL East rivals.

As Washington turns the page on this matchup and they get ready for a six-game homestand that will span seven days, here are three things that stood out during this series against the Mets.

The Offense Is Resilient

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

After the Nationals were surprisingly one of the best offensive teams in baseball to begin the year, it seemed like they might be slowing down a bit after they only scored six runs across three games against the Chicago White Sox when excluding extra innings. And then to start Washington's set in New York, they were shut out.

However, like this lineup has done all season, they bounced back. The Nationals scored 14 runs in the second contest, and in the winner-take-all finale, they took an early lead against the Mets' ace before having to come back late to score and secure a victory.

While it doesn't always look pretty, Washington has continued to get contributions from just about everyone up and down their lineup over the course of a series. And that was the case once again when facing New York.

The Bullpen Dominated

Washington Nationals pitcher Gus Varland | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

This hasn't been said often in the past couple of years, but the bullpen dominated during this series. Across the three games, the relief staff was only charged with one earned run. That came from Mitchell Parker in the finale, but he was the winning pitcher after he only allowed that lone score across his three innings that kept the Nationals in the contest.

Here's the breakdown of the bullpen in this series:

-Mitchell Parker: 3.0 innings, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 K, 1 BB
-Brad Lord: 2.1 innings, 0 ER, 1H, 1 K and 0 BB
-Andre Granillo: 2.0 innings, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 2 BB
-Gus Varland: 1.1 innings, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB
-Cionel Perez: 1.0 innings, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB
-Paxton Schultz: 1.0 innings, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 K, 0 BB
-PJ Poulin: 1.0 innings, 0 ER, 0 H, 1K, 0 BB
-Richard Lovelady: 0.2 innings, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K, 0 BB

Even though New York has not been a good offense this year, the fact that Washington's much-maligned bullpen was able to turn in this type of performance is a major positive to build upon coming out of this set.

Jacob Young Continues to Hit

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Jacob Young is an elite defender. He has been a Gold Glove finalist the past two seasons in center field, and he has consistently been at the top of the rankings when it comes to outs above average and defensive runs saved.

However, his ceiling was always going to be limited because of his struggles at the plate. Entering the 2026 campaign, the best OPS+ figure he ever recorded was 15 points below the league average of 100. And he was coming off a year where he posted an OPS+ of 68. There were rightful concerns about if he would ever be able to figure things out on offense, but so far this season, he has proven the doubters wrong.

That was on display once again during this series. While Young finished by going 2-for-11 with one walk and four strikeouts, he had an impact when it mattered most with three RBIs. His batting average for the year is now sitting at .238, and he's on pace to smash his career-highs in home runs and RBIs in a single season.