WASHINGTON -- One by one and two by two, they came around to score, rapidly transforming a close game into a laugher. Throughout the 10th and 11th innings at Nationals Park, the mood was tense.
In the 12th, things changed entirely.
The Mets erupted for a franchise-record 10 runs in the 12th inning of their 16-7 win over the Nationals on Monday, becoming the first team since the 1983 Rangers to score double-digit runs in a single extra inning. Their output matched the fourth-most runs any team has scored in an extra inning in Major League history, making the Mets one of only seven clubs to accomplish that feat.
The other six teams to score double-digit runs in a single extra inning were the 1983 Rangers (12 runs in the 15th inning on July 3), the 1969 Twins (11 in the 10th on June 21), the 1928 Yankees (11 in the 12th on July 26), the 1919 Reds (10 in the 13th on May 15), 1887 Boston (now the Braves, 10 in the 10th on June 17) and the 1886 Kansas City Cowboys (10 in the 11th on July 21).
“It’s crazy, man,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Every day, you see something new in baseball. We’re seeing a lot right now. But I’m glad that we’re coming on the good side of the story.”
Tied, 5-5, entering extras, the Mets and Nationals both submitted a scoreless 10th, before each plated a lone run in the 11th. That brought them to the 12th, which began in typical fashion when catcher Hayden Senger sacrificed the Mets’ automatic runner to third.
Next up was Carson Benge, who singled home a run to bolster his burgeoning late-game resume. Over the Mets’ last six games, Benge has produced three go-ahead, extra-inning RBIs. The previous two were walk-offs at Citi Field against the Tigers and Yankees. This one simply got the party started.
“I trust myself to be able to put the ball in play,” Benge said. “No matter what, you’re not going to score on a strikeout. If you put the ball in play, good things can happen.”
One after another, Benge’s teammates took his advice. With the rookie on first base, Bo Bichette singled. After the Nationals intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases, Vidal Bruján popped up a bunt that fell between home plate and the mound, resulting in another run. Brett Baty followed with a two-run single and Marcus Semien added another run-scoring hit, creating a five-run margin that prompted Nationals manager Blake Butera to bring a position player, Jorbit Vivas, to the mound.
“Obviously just ran out of pitching,” Butera said.
But the Mets did not run out of hitting. Facing Vivas, A.J. Ewing singled home another run, Senger also singled, and Benge and Bichette followed with consecutive two-run doubles. Only when Soto popped out did the inning finally end after 10 runs, nine hits, 13 batters and one giant exhale from the visiting dugout.
“I think we’re just feeding off each other,” said Baty, who also made a key defensive play in the 11th to cut down the Nationals’ lead runner at second base. “We’re all putting together really good at-bats and we’re all grinding it out. We’re making it really hard on the opposing pitching staff.”
The Mets sent more men to the plate in the 12th than they did in the previous three innings combined. Back in the dugout, reliever Huascar Brazobán could relax after pitching the 10th and 11th for the Mets. As he watched the parade of Mets cross home, Brazobán sat back and enjoyed the show.
“I felt like I did my job,” he said through an interpreter. “And then the hitters did theirs. So I’m able to end the night on a happy note.”