An exciting and news-heavy Mets-Nationals series this week at Nationals Park finished up with the tightest contest of the series. After the Mets prevailed, 2-0, I attended Dusty Baker’s post-game news conference.

One of many attributes that makes Baker a great interview is he’ll just throw observations and thoughts out there, without prompting. Here’s what he threw out late Wednesday afternoon:

“Anthony Rendon, usually you’re guarding the line over there. He was way over in the hole. Big time. We’ve just got to give them credit for doing their homework, I guess, and knowing where to play people at the right time.”

Rendon, the Nats’ third baseman, came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with teammates on first and second and one out against Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who had struck out Ryan Zimmerman after Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy (him again) started the inning with singles.

As Baker said, Rendon hit a bullet right at Mets first baseman Eric Campbell, positioned several feet away from the bag. Campbell fielded the ball and threw to Matt Reynolds to force Murphy at second, the crucial second out as Werth advanced to third. Then Wilson Ramos grounded out to David Wright to secure the Mets’ game and series victory.

Tim Teufel, the Mets’ infield coach, received Baker’s praise with a smile.

“Rendon is a guy that will sometimes go the other way,” Teufel said. “He hits toward second base, first base. It’s one of those things, if he goes down the line, then you’re in the worse position. But it’s hard for a right-handed hitter to hit one down the first base line. We’ve been playing him all series there, so we just stayed with it.

“We did play him pull on the pull side [with Wright guarding the third-base line]. That’s more apt for a right-hander, especially against a guy like Familia. It’s one of those things that his ball sinks a lot, so it’s really hard to go the other way. Rendon put a really good swing on that.

“But I appreciate the praise. We were in the right spot. Soup made a nice play.”

That spot, Teufel said, is referred to in Mets lingo as the 17 hole. Each spot on the infield carries a different number. The first-base foul line is the 20 hole, so Campbell stood three spots over from where Baker thought he’d be.

The positioning is the result of both pre-game preparation, including the data that Teufel receives from the Mets’ analytics group, and improvising based on the circumstances in play at that very moment.

“You include everything in that process,” Teufel said. “Your pre-game: how we’re going to pitch him, how we’re going to play him. Who’s pitching. How he’s been swinging that day. Where he’s been hitting the ball. What kind of approach does he have? So there are a few things that go into it, especially at that moment.”

In the instance of Rendon’s ninth-inning at-bat, Teufel said, there was no audible called. The pre-game plan called for Campbell to move to the 17 hole, and that’s what Campbell did.

“When you see that ball go there and Soup is standing right there, it’s satisfying for everybody,” Teufel said. “Especially for the infielders. They start putting trust in it and they start following what they’re trying to do defensively.”

Now, all of this is particularly important for the Mets, because their infield has not performed well this season. They need all the help they can get with proper positioning.

According to Baseball Info Solutions, which has led the field in defensive data, the Mets report to work Friday with negative-14 defensive runs saved on the infield, third-worst in baseball — ahead of only Oakland and Atlanta. In other words, the Mets’ infield has cost the team 14 runs more than would an average infield. David Wright has cost the team seven runs at third base, according to BIS, tying him for sixth-worst in baseball among all players.

However, BIS also tracks “shift runs saved,” which goes into effect when a team deploys either three infielders on one side or essentially two and a half, with the shortstop standing behind second base. The Mets have nine shift runs saved, fifth-best in baseball. When you combine the negative-14 defensive runs saved (in non-shift situations) with nine shift runs saved, you wind up with a net of negative-5 overall defensive runs saved, which is tied for fourth-worst in baseball.

Though the Rendon play didn’t occur on a shift, it represents how well the Mets have done putting their players in the right spot. And how important it is for the Mets to do so. It might have made the difference between winning and losing on Wednesday, one of their biggest wins of the season.

Let’s catch up on Pop Quiz questions:

1. From Howard Gold of Kearny, NJ: Name the current major-league general manager who shares the name of a member of the British music duo Eurythmics.

2. Also from Howard Gold: This left-handed pitcher from the 1980s shares a name with a member of the English rock band Pink Floyd. Name him.

3. Also from Howard Gold: This former American League Cy Young Award winner shared a name with a member of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Name him.

4. From Matt Corey of Brooklyn: Name the legendary Irish novelist and playwright who went to Shea Stadium in its first season, 1964, and attended a Mets doubleheader sweep of the Astros.

Your answers:

1. Dave Stewart

2. Rick Wright

3. Bob Welch

4. Samuel Beckett

(As Howard Gold pointed out, Stewart, Wright and Welch — as well as troubled reliever Steve Howe, who shared a name with a member of Yes, as noted in a previous Pop Quiz questions — were teammates on the Dodgers in 1982 and 1983. Quite a musical era, if not a very successful one, at Chavez Ravine.)

If you have a connection between baseball and popular culture that you think would be a good Pop Quiz question, please send it to me at kdavidoff@nypost.com.