The New York Mets’ recent struggles have continued, as they lost a series to the last-place Washington Nationals, a team that has already accumulated 75 losses this season. After a dominant 8-1 win in the series opener, the Mets reverted to their losing ways, falling in consecutive games by scores of 5-4 and 9-3. The final 9-3 loss was particularly emblematic of their recent troubles, as they built an early 3-0 lead only to see it evaporate as the game progressed.

The loss extended the Mets’ recent skid to a dismal 5-16 over their last 21 games. Compounding the team’s on-field struggles, the Nationals’ official X account added insult to injury with a pointed social media post. Shortly after the final out, the account posted, “The most important part of lolmets is the two Ls”—a clever jab referencing the fan-driven “LolMets” meme.

Now, you might wonder what “LolMets” even means. It’s not just a meme; it’s a library of pain for the Queens. In the 2007 season, the Mets held a seven-game division lead when there were only 17 games left. Then they lost 12 of their final 17 games and gave up the division title. The term was first used at that time.

But that 2007 event wasn’t alone. They collapsed again several times after that. And this pattern of finding new ways to make blunders brings us to this season, which began with enormous expectations for the Mets. The team entered 2025 with the second-highest payroll in baseball at $339 million, an investment bolstered by the record-setting $765 million contract given to superstar Juan Soto.

But after a dominant start to the season that saw them build a significant lead in the NL East, the team has since fallen into a deep slump. As a result, the Mets now find themselves with a 67-60 record, seven games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies and holding on to the final Wild Card spot by a precarious half-game margin.

And Nationals? They may be last in that same division with just 52 wins, but they have been cultivating a witty online persona over the years.

A history of haymakers

This recent jab at the Mets is characteristic of the Nationals’ witty and combative social media presence, which has even targeted MLB’s official account for what it perceives as biased coverage.

In a notable exchange a few months ago, MLB’s X account posted an enthusiastic, all-caps caption for a game-tying Shohei Ohtani home run that occurred early in a game. The Nationals’ account quickly retorted, “post dylan crews single,” a reference to a play that had just given their team the lead.

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Later in the same game, after a James Wood home run extended Washington’s lead, MLB posted a more subdued comment, to which the Nationals’ admin sarcastically replied, “where did the caps lock go mlb,” highlighting the perceived difference in excitement from the league’s official channel.

What makes the Nationals’ social media taunt at the Mets particularly sharp is the recent history between the two clubs. The Mets have generally had the upper hand, and with another series scheduled for late September, they will have a chance for payback.

For now, however, that history is irrelevant. The Nationals earned a decisive series victory, a triumph not just over a division rival, but over a team built with one of the largest payrolls in baseball. In this latest chapter of their rivalry, Washington has claimed bragging rights both on the field and online.