WASHINGTON — Crossing five time zones and the Atlantic Ocean, the Mets were concerned about the Wednesday-into-Thursday redeye flight to London. Carlos Mendoza wanted his team to sleep on the way there, knowing the group would be arriving across the pond in the middle of the day.
The Mets played as if sleep should come easily; as if they had nothing to make them toss and turn at night.
An all-Luis battery (Severino and Torrens) was excellent, as was the Mets’ overall defense and overall offense, in a well-played, 9-1 destruction at Nationals Park.
For the first time since April 15-17 against the Pirates, the Mets swept an opponent in a three-game series.
All it takes is a brief run to make a team relevant in the National League. After winning five of seven, the Mets (27-35) moved to 3 ¹/₂ games back of a wild card before late games Wednesday and before beginning a set against the Phillies in Europe.
In some ways, the Mets played in the series finale as they hoped they would play all season.
After a one hour, 25-minute rain delay that could throw off some pitchers, Severino provided both length (a season-high-tying eight innings) and excellence (allowing just one run, seven hits and no walks), again looking like a bargain of a free-agent signing.
He has at times struggled to go deeper into games, but the former Yankee otherwise has revived his career and reduced his ERA to 3.25.
Behind him, the Mets played as well as they have all season. Pete Alonso, whose bat has been quiet, made noise with his glove instead with highlight after highlight.
He stuck out his glove on a smashed ground ball down the line from Keibert Ruiz and stopped a potential double, getting the out at first; he dove to his right to take a hit away from Joey Gallo; he threw up his glove to catch a liner from Eddie Rosario in what became a double play.
Severino’s catcher, Torrens, contributed defensively, too, cutting down Jesse Winker trying to steal second for just the Mets’ 10th caught stealing in 79 tries this year.
But Torrens helped more with his bat, which the Mets could not have envisioned a few months ago.
Trying to pry a backup job from Tomas Nido when Francisco Alvarez returns, Torrens came through with his first two major league home runs since Oct. 5, 2022, leading another breakout day from the Mets’ bats.
Torrens, a seven-year vet who was in the Yankees’ system before the trade Friday, cracked his first homer with the Mets in the third inning of what had been a scoreless game.
His first dinger impressed particularly because it went to the opposite field. His second, in the sixth inning, impressed particularly because it was blasted 404 feet to straightaway center.
Francisco Lindor followed Torrens’ second solo shot with a home run of his own in an inning in which the Mets ran away from the Nats. The Mets posted six runs in the sixth, when singles from Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias scored a run apiece and a Harrison Bader double plated two.
The Mets finished with 11 hits, the fifth time in their past seven games they have reached double-digits. All nine Mets who started recorded at least one hit, which is fitting for a lineup in which seemingly everyone who plays is suddenly rolling.
They didn’t need much from Severino and yet received plenty.
Severino retired the first eight hitters he saw and didn’t allow a hit that reached the outfield until there was one out in the fifth inning. A Nationals batter did not reach scoring position until the eighth inning, when Washington loaded the bases but only scored once on a sacrifice fly.
Severino struck out four and went through eight innings on just 92 pitches, economical and efficient and enabling the Mets to only trot out Danny Young from the bullpen.
Severino and a powerful offense allowed a tired set of relievers to rest after a long stretch of 13 games in 13 days and 26 games in 27 days.
And with an overnight, roughly six-hour trip awaiting the Mets, the rest of the group could rest easy, too.