The only two relief pitchers who did not allow a run were Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith, who combined to pitch two and a third innings.

By the fifth inning, Callaway knew he would need to use a position player to avoid burning through everyone in the bullpen. Noah Syndergaard, who is returning from a stint on the disabled list for hand, foot and mouth disease, was slated to start on Wednesday, so the Mets wanted to keep some relief pitchers fresh just in case.

In the sixth inning, Callaway asked Reyes, the struggling backup infielder, if he was willing pitch. Reyes, who had been hoping to get a chance to pitch before he retired, said yes.

The last time Reyes, 35, pitched was when he was 11 or 12 years old in his native Dominican Republic.

“When you get on the mound and before you throw a pitch, it’s fun,” he said. “But when you start to see people hit a homer and stuff, you get more serious. Even though I’m not a pitcher, you don’t want to see that. I want to put a zero up there. But I do the best that I can.”

Juan Soto, the Nationals rookie outfielder, laughed as he stepped in the batter’s box. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, a longtime opponent of Reyes, even faked charging the mound after Reyes hit him with a pitch.