Jake Irvin silences the Mets in a masterful Fourth of July performance

In bare feet, he strode across the clay-colored dirt and dry grass, took a deep breath and stepped atop the pitcher’s mound, which was still covered by a tarp. After staring in at an imaginary catcher, he pantomimed throwing a pitch, holding a cold water bottle in his left hand in place of a glove.

The right-hander brought the same level of tranquility to a humid Thursday morning holiday matchup with the New York Mets, silencing one of baseball’s most potent offenses of the past month. Over eight scoreless innings, he struck out eight and surrendered just one hit and one walk in the Nationals’ 1-0 victory. Jesse Winker’s solo homer off Mets reliever Adrian Houser in the eighth delivered the game’s lone run.

“That was unbelievable — really was,” Manager Dave Martinez said of Irvin’s performance. “He was good all day, mixed his pitches up really well but kept those guys off balance. Fastball was really good today. We definitely needed that. … It was fun to watch him.”

Irvin, 27, is in just his second major league season, but that makes him a veteran in a young Nationals rotation. Making one last bid for a spot on the National League’s 12-man pitching staff in his final start before All-Star Game rosters are announced Sunday, Irvin dominated the Mets, inducing 15 whiffs on 47 swings.

He capped his longest outing of the season with a 1-2-3 eighth, striking out Tyrone Taylor with a fastball before releasing a roar following his 99th and final pitch. He ceded the mound to Derek Law, who rode in for the ninth in the bullpen cart while holding an American flag.

“It means a heck of a lot more on Fourth of July, I can tell you that,” Irvin said of his performance. “Being able to pitch on this holiday, it’s something truly special to me, really near and dear to my heart.”

For the season, Irvin’s ERA stands at 2.80, and his walks and hits per inning pitched is a tidy 1.00. Both are top-six marks in the NL.

More importantly for Washington (41-46), Irvin’s outing helped an overtaxed bullpen after Robert Garcia, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan had been deployed on three consecutive days. In their stead, Law struck out two for his first save.

As has been the case for most of the season, Irvin suffered from a lack of run support; for the 12th time in his 18 starts, the Nationals put two or fewer runs on the scoreboard — even though they had a runner on base in every inning Thursday. In the fifth, the top of the order came to bat with runners on first and second and one out. But CJ Abrams struck out and Lane Thomas grounded into a force out.

Winker began the game on the bench with the Mets (42-43) starting left-hander Jose Quintana but was eager to play, Martinez said. With one out in the eighth, he pinch-hit for designated hitter Harold Ramírez and drove a curveball into the right-center field seats. After he circled the bases, he celebrated by standing on home plate, placing his hand over his heart and saluting the dugout.

“It’s my job to be ready if it’s my turn,” he said. “It’s what my job has always been. So whenever the bell is rung for me to play, I’ll be ready for it.”

His homer let Washington conclude the four-game series with a split. The Nationals had lost their first five meetings with the Mets before winning Wednesday and Thursday.

Here’s what else to know about the Nationals’ win:

After the game, the Nationals optioned first baseman Joey Meneses to Class AAA Rochester. The 32-year-old was a revelation late in the 2022 season after 10 years in the minor leagues, but his production fell off sharply since. In 76 games this season, he is hitting .231 with three homers and a .597 OPS. He went 0 for 4 while batting cleanup Thursday.

The Nationals later called up first baseman/outfielder Juan Yepez, according to a person with knowledge of the move. He hit .307 with a .833 OPS in June for Class AAA Rochester.

With Joey Gallo on the injured list, their other options to play first base include the recently promoted Riley Adams (three games at first with Rochester), Ramírez (39 career games at first) and Winker, who has been practicing at the position.