MMO Game Thread: Mets vs Nationals, 7:10 PM

In what has become the most important series in several years, the Mets open a four game series against the division leading Washington Nationals tonight. Righty Tanner Roark (12-10, 2.97) will oppose Bartolo Colon (13-11, 3.96) with first pitch at 7:10pm.

In his last start Colon received the win in the Mets’ 14-5 victory against the Reds on September 5th at Great American Ball Park. He tossed 7.0 innings, allowed two runs, on seven hits and struck out two in an 85-pitch effort.

The Mets posted back-to-back 2-0 shutouts over the Rockies on Tuesday and Wednesday. The last time the Mets had consecutive shutouts was June 29th and 30th, 2012 against the Dodgers. Mets pitchers have tossed 19.0 scoreless innings dating back to Monday.

Jenrry Mejia earned his 25th save last night with a scoreless inning. Mejia is the 10th pitcher in team history with 25 or more saves and is the youngest (age 24) to do so. He is also tied for first in the NL with 15 saves since the All-Star break.

Jefferson Crowther will throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch. Crowther’s son, Welles, saved numerous lives on 9-11, including carrying a woman on his back down 17 floors of the South Tower. Welles went back up and helped escort numerous other people down to safety and was recognized by his famous trademark red bandanna that Jefferson gave him as a youngster. A former BC lacrosse star, Welles, died a true hero while saving countless lives.

Starting Lineup

1. Eric Young Jr. LF
2. Juan Lagares CF
3. Daniel Murphy 3B
4. Lucas Duda 1B
5. Travis d’Arnaud C
6. Curtis Granderson RF
7. Dilson Herrera 2B
8. Wilmer Flores SS
9. Bartolo Colon P

The Mets enter a critical four game game series tonight with the Nationals if they want to make it to .500 or better by the end of the season. Last night the Mets completed the sweep against the Rockies and put themselves only 4 games away from the .500 mark. Bartolo Colon will look to make this happen for the Amazin’s as he squares off against Tanner Roark.

Bartolo Colon is 13-11 over 27 starts and 179.2 innings with a 3.96 ERA. Colon rebounded after his poor start against Philly by pitching 7.0 innings allowing 2 ER in his last start. He is 1-2 over three starts against the Nationals this year allowing 7 runs, 6 earned over 21.0 innings with a 2.57 ERA. The Nationals have the following numbers against Colon:

Span 0-10
Cabrera 1-11, 2B
Rendon 2-10
Desmond 4-9, 2 HR
LaRoche 2-7, 2 2B
Harper 0-5
Ramos 2-6, 2B

Tanner Roark is 12-10 this season over 28 starts and a 2.97 ERA while pitching 179.0 innings. In his last two starts he has pitched 12.1 innings allowing 7 ER and striking out 12 batters. He is 2-0 over two games against the Mets this season allowing 4 ER over 11.0 innings while striking out 9 batters. The Mets have the following numbers against Roark: