Any game that invokes optimism for the 2027 Mets rather than dismay regarding the 2026 version is a good game for the franchise. 

On Friday night, Robert Stock looked like a nice piece rather than a novelty. Each reliever behind him, including closer Kodai Senga, made a case that he belongs on next year’s Opening Day roster.

Jared Young continued to make the most of his playing time and strengthened his argument for that time to remain next year. 

It all added up to a nicely played, 4-1 comeback victory over the Nationals in front of 30,660 at Citi Field, where the Mets (54-69) offered the only thing they have left to offer this season: hope for the future. 

It began with Stock, a 36-year-old whose age is looking more like a quirk than a drawback; a journeyman who has pitched just about everywhere from indy ball to South Korea to Mexico; who was signed for a second time by the Mets as a late-career flier and then required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome this spring; and who is as well-versed in pitching technology and language as anyone in the game.

Stock is not a regular case of a kid trying to make an impression late in a lost season. 

Maybe a pitcher who is closer to 40 than 30 can pitch his way to 2027 relevance. 

That’s two decent outings and one dud for a starting pitcher we’ll call a veteran, Stock allowing one unearned run in 4 ¹/₃ innings while allowing three hits and three walks and striking out five. 

Washington only scored in the third, when Francisco Lindor did not stay down on a sharp ground ball from Abimelec Ortiz that skipped into the outfield to put runners on the corners.

On the next pitch, Brady House stroked an RBI single past a diving Marcus Semien. 

Otherwise, Stock was unblemished, in part because Nate Lavender entered with two on and one out in the fifth and escaped. Behind the rookie lefty, Jonathan Pintaro, Daniel Duarte and ultimately Senga (second save) held down the Nationals. All are potential pieces of the Mets’ staff next year. 

The Mets rallied in the sixth, when Lindor atoned for his earlier error with a solo home run to tie it before Carson Benge stroked a single to give the Mets the lead. 

That lead was extended in the seventh, when Young teed off on former Yankee Jake Bird and Bo Bichette added an RBI single. 

Young, who is under team control and is trying to present himself as more than simply an option for next year, is now 20-for-69 (.290) with a pair of homers, two doubles and eight RBIs since the All-Star break.