Andrew Alvarez taking advantage of opportunity to remain in Nationals’ rotation next season

NEW YORK — Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz likely prolonged Andrew Alvarez’s outing Friday night.

On the fifth pitch of Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez’s at-bat in the fifth inning, home-plate umpire Charlie Ramos initially called it ball four. Andrew Alvarez hasn’t done well this season when he walks batters, usually seeing his outings take a sharp downturn afterward.

But Ruiz tapped the top of his head, signaling a challenge. After a brief review, Ruiz was justified as the call was overturned to strike two. Francisco Alvarez fouled off the next pitch, but Andrew Alvarez struck him out on a nasty curveball. Marcus Semien flied out on a well-struck ball, and Jared Young grounded out to end the inning.

The Nationals’ Alvarez faltered a bit in the sixth, allowing a solo shot to Francisco Lindor that tied the game. He then struck out Bo Bichette but allowed him to reach base on a wild pitch, ending his day. Jake Bird replaced Alvarez and saw the Mets take the lead after he allowed back-to-back singles — the run was charged to Alvarez.

But the ending shouldn’t overshadow Alvarez’s outing in totality, even in a 4-1 loss to the Mets at Citi Field. Although the Mets have plunged to the bottom of the standings, they still have decorated hitters who can provide good at-bats.

That Alvarez performed well and came oh so close to getting out of the sixth is progress for the left-hander as he continues his development.

The homer Alvarez allowed snapped his streak of consecutive innings without a home run at 56 2/3, the fourth longest in team history. He threw 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts and one walk.

The offense didn’t provide much support. The Nationals went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Mets, meanwhile, had fewer opportunities but capitalized on their extra chance.

Alvarez worked efficiently, keeping his pitch count low and rarely dealing with traffic. He was aggressive in the zone, throwing 64% of his pitches for strikes. The left-hander has benefited from being aggressive since he was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Alvarez has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last four outings. He’s trending in the right direction as the Nationals could use emerging arms to give them more clarity on how many starters they need to fill out their rotation next season.