Throughout a marathon day of baseball at Citi Field, Washington’s ace, Max Scherzer, was forced to watch the Mets repeatedly drill home the fact that they, and not the preseason-favorite Nationals, were the 2015 National League East division champions.
There were scoreboard video packages replaying the final out of the Mets’ clinching game last week at Cincinnati. Between innings, there were advertisements for commemorative apparel on sale at the ballpark. And in right field, fluttering in the cold, windy night, was the Mets’ latest flag saluting their most recent pennant.
In a modicum of revenge, Scherzer all but crushed the Mets’ hopes of gaining home-field advantage in their division series, no-hitting the Mets for a 2-0 win in the second game of a day-night doubleheader.