Mets narrowly fall short of first ninth inning comeback this year

And after both teams failed to score in the tenth, the difference maker in this game came during the top of the 11th inning off the bat of Daylen Lile, who hit an inside-the-park homer, scoring two runs for the Nationals and tying this series up at a game apiece.

It has been a common theme for this Mets team all season, as they have been unable to recapture the late-inning magic they had last season during their incredible run and translate it into this year.

Defensive issues also plagued the Mets

This game also featured a couple of bad fielding errors by the Mets during the second inning, with Soto unable to cleanly come up with a ball in right field, resulting in Washington scoring their second run of the game (this was Soto's first error all season). Pete Alonso once again failed to throw the ball over cleanly to first base with the pitcher covering and Saturday's starter, Nolan McLean, uncorked a wild pitch in the second inning, which brought home the second run of the inning for the Nationals, putting the Amazins' in a 3-0 hole.

With just seven games left in the regular season and the Mets still holding a narrow lead for the final Wild Card spot in the National League, manager Carlos Mendoza understands the margin of error is low.

"We've been inconsistent," Mendoza said to reporters following Saturday's loss. "We go through stretches where we make plays, we play clean, and then we've been through stretches where that happens."

The Mets will now get ready to play in their final home game on Sunday against the Nationals, hoping to take two out of three against their division rivals before they embark on a six-game road trip to close out the regular season.