WASHINGTON — The New York Mets’ winning streak came to an end Friday night at Nationals Park, but the controversy surrounding will undoubtedly provide a few days of fodder.

Jesse Winker hit into what was ruled as a triple play in the top of the fourth inning, but replays showed that first-base umpire Alfonso Marquez made the wrong call. Mark Vientos hit a three-run triple to erase a deficit and put the Mets on top in the eighth, before the Washington Nationals tied the game in the ninth and walked it off.

The Mets lost 5-4, snapping a seven-game win streak.

Facing right-hander Jake Irvin, the Mets had runners on first and second with no outs when Winker hit a line drive to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Brandon Nimmo broke for third base and Vientos for second, seeing the ball short-hop right into Lowe’s glove.

Marquez didn’t see the ball hit the ground. He thought Winker had lit the ball right into the glove. With the runners already going, Lowe threw to shortstop C.J. Abrams at second base to complete the play. They were out, with Abrams being credited with two putouts.

Carlos Mendoza argued extensively with first base umpire Alfonso Márquez after an apparent ground ball hit by Jesse Winker was ruled a lineout and resulted in a triple play.

Manager Carlos Mendoza got into an animated argument with Marquez between innings. It was an embarrassing look for the officiating crew, as slow-motion replays on the scoreboard behind Marquez showed the ball bouncing right in front of Lowe’s glove. There was little anyone could do since it was not a reviewable play.

It seems unbelievable that no other umpire saw the ball hit the ground, but none of them had a good view. From where Marquez was standing behind Lowe, it obviously looked to be an out. Lance Barrett at second base likely only saw Lowe’s glove, and third base umpire Carlos Torres was likely too far away, all the way across the diamond. Home plate umpire Charlie Ramos likely would have had the best view, but Marquez didn’t get the crew together to discuss.

Just about every pro sport has been dealing with various officiating crises with the rise of replay. Umpires make mistakes as all humans do, and for years, baseball has worked to protect some of the human elements of the game. It’s one thing to miss on balls and strikes, and it’s another to get a call wrong that affects the outcome of a game.

Down 2-0, Vientos represented the tying run. Had the call been correct, the bases would have been loaded for the bottom of the order with no outs. Instead, the inning was over.

Irvin held the Mets scoreless for another 3 1/3 innings, but they got to the Nats bullpen.

Down 3-0 after Huascar Brazobán gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs. Nimmo poked a single through the center to score Tyrone Taylor and cut the lead to two runs.

Washington then went to the bullpen for right-handed closer Kyle Finnegan. It was the right move considering Vientos has good splits against left-handers, but the third baseman did plenty of damage on a 1-2 fastball, dropping it into right field out of the reach of a diving Dylan Crews. He cleared the bases to put the Mets on top.

But then Ryne Stanek gave up a leadoff triple to Crews in the bottom of the ninth and a single to Jose Tena to tie the game. Stanek handed the ball over to left-hander A.J. Minter with one out. He got one more before James Woods hit a ball that went underneath the glove of McNeil, and Abrams was waved around from first base, sliding in just ahead of the tag.

Right-hander Kodai Senga gave up two earned runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five.

____

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.