Gray, Ruiz propel Nationals to 5-0 win over Mets

Tue, Apr 25, 2023
MLB News (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) - Josiah Gray pitched six overpowering innings and batterymate Keibert Ruiz homered to help the Washington Nationals beat the listless New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Luis Garcia had a two-run double and Joey Meneses added a pair of RBI singles among his three hits. Ruiz also finished with three hits as the rebuilding Nationals won the first meeting this season between the NL East foes.

Finally given some offensive support in his fifth start of the year, Gray (1-4) struck out nine and walked one while allowing four hits in a return close to home. The right-hander grew up in New Rochelle, just north of New York City.

Ruiz's solo homer to right-center off Jose Butto (0-1) in the second marked the first run Washington scored with Gray on the mound this season.

Gray and Ruiz were both top-rated prospects when they were acquired from the Dodgers in the July 2021 blockbuster trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles.

Butto was recalled by the Mets from Triple-A Syracuse to pitch in Scherzer's spot Tuesday. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball last week following his ejection for having a foreign substance on his hand while pitching in a game at Dodger Stadium.

MLB

Making his third big league start, Butto walked six in 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs and four hits.

Mason Thompson completed a five-hitter for the Nationals' first shutout this season and third victory in four games. He worked three quick innings for his second major league save and first this year.

Back from a 7-3 West Coast trip, New York dropped its third straight in the opener of a seven-game homestand against two division rivals. The Mets were blanked for the fourth time this year.

WELCOME BACK

Just before the game, the Mets played a video tribute to Nationals first baseman Dominic Smith, who spent 2017-22 with New York after the club selected him in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft. Smith saved a run with a good defensive play in the fifth when he came off the bag to corral an errant throw.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: LHP Sean Doolittle (elbow) threw live batting practice in Florida with a goal of about 20 pitches and felt "really good," manager Dave Martinez said. ... The team hopes OF Corey Dickerson (strained left calf) can begin running by next week. ... INF Ildemaro Vargas (right shoulder strain) is getting close to a rehab assignment. He is doing all baseball activities but still feels "a little bit of a pinch swinging right-handed," Martinez said.

Mets: RHP Justin Verlander remains scheduled for a minor league rehab start Friday, though manager Buck Showalter declined to reveal where. If all goes well, Verlander would then likely make his Mets debut next week at Detroit, his original team. The three-time Cy Young Award winner went on the injured list just before opening day with a teres major strain in his upper back. ... To open a roster spot for Butto, the Mets placed RHP Edwin Uceta on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 23, with a sprained left ankle.

UP NEXT

Japanese rookie Kodai Senga (3-0, 4.29 ERA) starts for the Mets in the middle game of the series Wednesday night against LHP MacKenzie Gore (2-1, 3.43).

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