Mets' Francisco Alvarez struggles, Carson Benge gets 20-20 season in loss vs. Nationals

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Sep 25, 2026

Published in Baseball

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WASHINGTON — Come to the ballpark; you might see something different every day.

Friday night, it was four wild pitches in one inning, two of which came in a span of three pitches and scored two runs. Then there was a double steal.

The Mets used an opener, left-hander Jefry Yan, and four pitchers behind him, more than one of whom had trouble throwing strikes. How much of that was their own fault and how much was the fault of catcher Francisco Alvarez is unclear, but it was a struggle for the backstop on both sides of the ball.

On a more positive note, Carson Benge hit his 20th home run, becoming the first Mets rookie to post a 20-20 season. It was a wild game between two non-contenders that resulted in a 7-6 loss for the Mets. There was even an ejection — A.J. Ewing was tossed after tossing his bat following a strikeout in the top of the eighth. A career first for the rookie.

The Mets allowed four earned runs in an exceptionally sloppy third inning, losing a 3-2 lead. Andres Chaparro singled to lead off and was moved over on a wild pitch from Jonathan Pintaro. Brady House hit a double to right that should have been caught by first baseman Christopher Morel, and then another wild pitch to score Chaparro. Two pitches later, there was yet another to score House.

Dylan Crews walked and the Mets replaced Pintaro with left-hander Cionel Perez. Yet another wild pitch moved Crews to second, and then CJ Abrams walked. With third base open, Crews and Abrams bolted, and both slid in safely.

Alvarez managed to nab a foul pop-up behind the plate for the first out, but a fly ball to center field scored another run, and Abrams managed to get to third. Perez was visibly frustrated. He then gave up an RBI single to Keibert Ruiz.F

The Nationals Park scorekeepers called them all wild pitches, but some probably should have been considered passed balls. Washington saw Alvarez struggling behind the plate, so they decided to run on him.

Once considered the top prospect in baseball, Alvarez is no longer a rising star. Now 24, the catcher can impact a baseball like few others who play his position, but he gets injured often, his defense appears to be declining and his bat is streaky. He came into this game riding a four-game hitting streak with a home run, two doubles and four runs scored, but went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an RBI against the Nats.

In his first at-bat, the Mets had the bases loaded with one out. Washington left-hander Andrew Alvarez fell behind 3-0 before getting a strike. Francisco Alvarez challenged it, but the call was upheld. He then chased a pitch outside of the zone, making weak contact. He grounded into a double play.

Alvarez struck out with runners on the corners in his second at-bat, and struck out on three pitches in his third, this one against right-hander Gus Varland.

He threw out one of four runners.

Luis Torrens has become more than just a backup catcher. He’s outplayed Alvarez defensively, and he puts together good at-bats with some opposite-field power. But he doesn’t have the same slug as Alvarez. The Mets have to figure out if Alvarez is their No. 1 moving forward, or if this is his ceiling.

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