Any game that invokes optimism for the 2027 Mets rather than dismay regarding the 2026 version is a good game for the franchise.
On Friday night, Robert Stock looked like a nice piece rather than a novelty. Each reliever behind him, including closer Kodai Senga, made a case that he belongs on next year’s Opening Day roster.
Jared Young continued to make the most of his playing time and strengthened his argument for that time to remain next year.
It all added up to a nicely played, 4-1 comeback victory over the Nationals in front of 30,660 at Citi Field, where the Mets (54-69) offered the only thing they have left to offer this season: hope for the future.
It began with Stock, a 36-year-old whose age is looking more like a quirk than a drawback. A journeyman who has pitched just about everywhere from indy ball to South Korea to Mexico; who was signed for a second time by the Mets as a late-career flier and then required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome this spring; and who is as well-versed in pitching technology and language as anyone in the game, Stock is not a regular case of a kid trying to make an impression late in a lost season.
That impression was darkened in his previous outing, an eight-run blowup in Pittsburgh. On Friday, a pitcher and person known for bouncing back bounced back.
Robert Stock of the New York Mets throws a pitch during the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Aug. 14, 2026. Getty Images
“It’s really good stuff,” interim manager Andy Green said of Stock, who allowed one unearned run and struck out five in 4 ¹/₃ innings. “So if he gets in the zone, he has quite a bit of success.”
He was in and out of the zone, walking three but typically relying on his movement to escape potential jams. Washington only scored in the third when Francisco Lindor did not stay down on a sharp ground ball from Abimelec Ortiz that skipped into the outfield to put runners on the corners, which led to a Brady House RBI single.
Otherwise, Stock was unblemished, in part because Nate Lavender entered with two on and one out in the fifth and escaped. Behind the rookie lefty, Jonathan Pintaro (two scoreless innings and his first major league win), Daniel Duarte (a clean eighth) and ultimately Senga (second save) held down the Nationals.
All are potential pieces of the Mets staff next year.
New York Mets starting pitcher Robert Stock follows through on a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“Pretty much all we want to do is we want to go out there and compete,” said Pintaro, another former indy baller who is trying to find a niche as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen. “Just do everything we can to show the world that we deserve this chance and that we have a great opportunity here just to compete and help our teammates do everything they can to get the wins.”
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The Mets’ offense consisted of rallies in the sixth and seventh, the former including a Lindor homer that atoned for his error and an RBI knock from Carson Benge, and the latter featuring Young teeing off on former Yankee Jake Bird and Bo Bichette adding an RBI single.
Mets first baseman Jared Young is greeted by New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens after he scores on his solo home run in the 7th inning at Citi Field in Queens on Friday, August 14, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Barring something unforeseen, Lindor, Benge and Bichette will be members of the 2027 Mets.
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Increasingly, Young is building a case that he belongs within this offensive group, too.
A complementary piece who has held his own at first base and consistently hit righty pitching, Young is under team control and only playing better with added playing time, now slashing .319/.396/.495 over his past 30 games.
“He knows what he’s good at and he stays consistent with it,” Green said of Young, who has gone from the KBO to a legitimate Mets silver lining.
