Houser (1-5) took the loss Thursday against the Nationals, striking out two and giving up a solo home run in an inning of relief.
The Mets managed only one hit on the day, but Jose Quintana kept the game scoreless through seven innings. Houser took the mound for the eighth and served up a one-out blast to Jesse Winker, and that was all the offense the Nats needed. It was the first long ball Houser had allowed in 23.2 innings since being shifted to the bullpen in late May, and the 31-year-old right-hander has been mostly effective in relief, posting a 1.52 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 17:6 K:BB during that stretch.