How good can the NY Mets' offense be? Here's what they showed in victory over Nationals

NEW YORK — Remember when the Mets struggled to score runs a season ago?

Those days are a distant memory.

On Monday night, the Mets proved they can score runs in a hurry while tormenting Nationals pitching.

After falling behind by three runs, the Mets cracked 14 hits in the first four innings and broke past the Nationals in a 13-5 rout in front of 22,007 fans at Citi Field.

Nearly every cog in the Mets' offense was turning in the same direction. Eight of the Mets' nine starters registered a hit and the 13 runs matched a season high.

"It’s passing the baton and really moving the line," Nick Plummer said. "I think a game like today, we came out and inning one through nine, pitching staff did a really good job. Whenever we felt like the momentum was about to turn over, they shut it down. Defensively, did a really good job and the bats, one through nine, we just kept plugging."

A season ago, the Mets scored 3.93 runs per game, which was 27th in Major League Baseball. They are now second in MLB with 5.12 runs per game and have scored eight or more runs in five of the last seven games.

On Monday, the production started at the top of the lineup where Luis Guillorme, Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor opened the night 8-for-8 at the plate with five runs and seven RBI on the first three innings.

Pete Alonso joined the party with his 13th home run — a solo shot — in the bottom of the eighth inning. Alonso now has 47 RBI on the season, and he is the eighth Mets player with 30 or more RBI in a single month.

"This team, the way that we play, if one player doesn’t do it, the other one right behind you is there," said Marte, who was 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs. "It kind of alleviates that pressure from each player going forward. I really like how things are going along with each player. The results are there for us right now."

Meanwhile, Plummer continued to grow as a Mets fan favorite by finishing a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, four RBI and two runs.

The win helped the Mets (33-17) build off the series sweep of the Phillies and grab their first four-game win streak of the season. Through 50 games, their lead in the NL East has swelled to 9.5 games.

"The word satisfaction isn’t even used in the mentality that any of our guys have," Buck Showalter said. "They know the challenge every day. They punch the clock and say, ‘Let’s go get nine innings.’ There’s not a whole lot of panic in these guys. They trust themselves and each other."

Top of mind

Guillorme continued to marvel while filling in for Brandon Nimmo in the leadoff position. He reached base in each of his first three at-bats, poking a pair of singles and scoring all three times.

He is 7-for-12 with eight runs, four walks and an RBI while batting leadoff. But he continued to impress with his defense, aiding the Mets pitching staff with a beautiful side-arm throw on a slow roller in the second inning and kickstarting a double play on a hot shot in the fifth inning.

"I’m not real sure if we win the game tonight if he didn’t make some of those plays," Showalter said. "He’s got great imagination. He’s got good hands and can get the ball in a throwing slot quickly – a lot of people can’t. His imagination defensively, reading hops and knowing when to come, it’s fun to watch."

Marte ripped a two-run home run in the second inning — his fifth of the season — and added a two-run single into left field in the third inning to make it 8-3.

Since returning from the bereavement list, Marte is 15-for-41 (.366) with 11 runs and nine RBI.

"I’ve been really studying how they’ve been pitching me and now that we’re a month and a half, a little bit more into the season, it’s ready and it’s due that I’m able to make the adjustments now," Marte said.

Lindor moved his RBI streak to eight games, knocking an RBI single in the first inning. He also drove in another run in the third inning to push his season total to 40 — third-best in the National League. Since May 14, Lindor is 20-of-60 (.333) with three home runs, 19 runs and 21 RBI.

Dynamite start

Lindor made sure that Plummer basked in the adoration from the Citi Field fans.

One night after belting the game-tying home run in the ninth inning off the Phillies' Corey Knebel, Plummer heard his name chanted in the first inning and throughout the night.

"I get pretty straight-faced when I get in between the lines. I really try to focus on it," Plummer said. "He made sure that I made light of it. Ultimately, we’re here for the fans, to go out there and compete and to win. Without them, we don’t have jobs."

It was more than warranted.

With the Mets trailing 3-2 in the second inning, Plummer ripped an RBI double into the left-center field gap off Erick Fedde. He would score the go-ahead run on Guillorme's opposite-field hit.

After Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha collected back-to-back singles in the fourth, Plummer cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left field. The Mets left fielder, who has helped in Brandon Nimmo's absence, added a single in the sixth.

He is batting .444 (4-for-9) with three runs and five RBI while appearing in five games this season.

"You don’t draw it up, you really don’t," Plummer said. "Maybe when you’re younger, you always think about hitting the grand slam down three in the bottom of the ninth inning, but to actually be here, do it, I’m just ultimately trying to play good defense, play behind my guys and put together really good at-bats."

Not his best

It was a good night for Peterson to not have his best stuff.

He struggled with his command throughout his 4⅔ innings, only throwing 44 of his 88 pitches for strikes.

That cost the southpaw in the opening inning. He gave up a single to Keibert RUiz before walking Juan Soto and hitting Nelson Cruz. Josh Bell cashed in with a two-run single and Lane Thomas added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

Peterson's four earned runs, six hits and four walks were all season highs. The uneven outing pushed Peterson's ERA from 2.16 to 3.03 after five starts.

"Four walks is just unacceptable in my opinion," Peterson said. "Giving them four free bases, it just can’t happen. Four and two-thirds (innings), I’ve got to go deeper in games."

Andrew Tredinnick is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app. 

Email: atredinnick@gannett.com Twitter: @andrew_tred

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets offense fires up for 13 runs in lopsided win over Nationals