Nats shake off ragged start, only to watch bullpen blow up late

They were sloppy in the field and sloppy on the bases again, digging themselves into an early hole that had South Capitol Street grumbling again only 48 hours after a fundamentally flawed opening day loss.

But when the Nationals clawed their way back to tie up the game thanks to the exploits of young outfielders Juan Soto and Victor Robles, the ballpark came back to life, now believing things were pointed in a positive direction after a ragged first 11 innings to the season.

And then the club's two biggest bullpen acquisitions of the early winter took the mound, and the air was sucked right back out of Nationals Park.

An eighth-inning implosion by Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough - who collectively gave up four runs on four hits, a walk and a run-scoring balk - turned a competitive ballgame into another disheartening loss to the Mets, this one by a final tally of 11-8 only after the home team scored four times in the bottom of the ninth.

And just like that, a Nationals season built on the high hopes of a revamped and healthy roster and the promise of better fundamental baseball is off to an 0-2 start against one of three National League East rivals who all believe they're good enough to win the division in 2019.

After overcoming an ugly start to this one, the Nationals used Robles' homer and Soto's two-out RBI singles to tie the game back up. But Rosenthal, making his D.C. debut and first major league appearance since Tommy John surgery 19 months ago, saw it all come crashing down during a disastrous top of the eighth.

The rally began when Trea Turner couldn't get a grip on Wilson Ramos' slow roller to short and allowed the slow-footed catcher to reach on a rare infield single. It continued with Jeff McNeil's single to center, then was extended by Amed Rosario's walk to load the bases with nobody out. And when J.D. Davis followed with a two-run single to right, Rosenthal got an unceremonious hook from manager Davey Martinez without having retired any of the four batters he faced.

Barraclough entered and only made things worse when he was called for a balk before ever throwing a pitch, allowing one of the runners he inherited from Rosenthal to score. Pete Alonso's tack-on double later in the inning extended the deficit to 8-4, and though the Nats had one last-gasp attempt to come back, Matt Adams' bases-loaded drive to deep right in the bottom of the eighth was caught at the base of the wall.

Matt Grace and Wander Suero then joined forces to surrender three more runs in the top of the ninth and increase the deficit to seven runs. And though Ryan Zimmerman brought home three runs with a two-out double in the bottom of the ninth, it was way too late to make a difference.

If the Nationals hoped to shake off the cobwebs after a fundamentally unsound opening day and get off to a better start today, they came up woefully short. The Mets scored three runs in the top of the first, and all of them could have been prevented.

Michael Conforto's two-out grounder through a vacant shortstop position (the Nats infield was shifted) set in motion a chain of events that did not end well for the Nationals. Robles made an ill-advised throw trying to get the lead runner at third, and with Stephen Strasburg covering (because of the shift) the ball squirted away and allowed Conforto to advance to second.

That proved costly moments later when Ramos lofted a double off the right field wall, bringing home both runners and giving the Mets the early lead. And then the kicker: Robles made an awkward leaping attempt to snag Jeff McNeil's drive to the center field wall, which perhaps didn't require a leap at all, and turned the play into an RBI triple to make it 3-0.

Add another late break on Alonso's drive to deep center in the top of the second, this one bringing home Mets starter Noah Syndergaard (who had walked), and Robles was smack-dab in the middle of a frustrating start to this game.

Robles is going to taketh away as a rookie - we haven't even gotten to his fifth-inning pickoff following a leadoff single - but he's also going to giveth the Nationals and their fans plenty of positive moments. Like his leadoff homer in the bottom of the third, a 110-mph laser off Syndergaard.

That accounted for one of the Nationals' first three runs. Soto accounted for the other two as only he can: with perfectly placed two-out RBI hits. He singled to right to bring home Anthony Rendon in the bottom of the first and give the Nats their first run of 2019. Two innings later, he took a low-and-away changeup from Syndergaard down the third base line to bring in Adam Eaton and trim the deficit to 4-3.

Strasburg kept it right there, settling down after a shaky beginning to his afternoon to retire the last eight batters he faced. His teammates then found a way to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, with Soto again playing a key role via a leadoff hustle double to right-center. After Zimmerman moved him to third with a ground ball to short, Kurt Suzuki drove him home with a sacrifice fly to left.

The crowd had reason to perk up, the home team having tied up the game heading into the later innings. That crowd wasn't too perky after the home team made a mess of the top of the eighth, though, and left a familiar vibe circulating around the park.