Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Friday, September 2, 2022 • 7:10 P.M.
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Josiah Gray (7-8, 4.67) vs. LHP David Peterson (7-3, 3.21)
SNY • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050

The Mets and Nationals kick off a three-game series tonight in Queens! The Mets are coming off an intense series win against the best team in baseball, the Dodgers. After losing the first game of the series, the Mets bounced back the last two days to win 2-1 and 5-3.

The Mets will now jump from playing a team with 90 wins to playing a team with 45 wins this season. The Nationals are one of three teams already eliminated from winning their divisions and have a four-game magic number from being eliminated from postseason play entirely. They have, however, won back-to-back games and look to make it a winning streak tonight against the Mets.

Mets Lineup

David Peterson gets the start for the Mets tonight. Over 20 games and 16 starts this season, Peterson has pitched 89 2/3 innings with a 3.21 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.283 WHIP, and a 121 ERA+. Peterson is coming off of a strong start against the Rockies where he held them scoreless over six innings, scattering four hits. Since June 20th Peterson has pitched in 11 games and 49 2/3 innings with a 2.90 ERA while striking out 69 batters.

One of Peterson’s rougher starts this season was against the Nationals who got six hits and four walks scoring four times in 4 2/3 innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Peterson:

The Mets bats will get a look at Josiah Gray tonight. Over 23 games and 123 1/3 innings, Gray has a 4.67 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 1.314 WHIP and an 83 ERA+. His weakness this year has been the homerun ball. He’s allowed a league leading 32 homers, and only 64 earned runs. Gray is coming off of a good start allowing only one run, on a solo homer, over five innings, scattering four hits and five walks against the Padres. Since July 1st, Gray has made nine starts and pitched 48 innings with a 6.00 ERA. During that stretch he has allowed 17 homers. The last time he pitched and didn’t allow a homerun was on June 18th.

Josiah Gray last faced the Mets during his first game of the season. He allowed four runs from eight hits and two walks, including a homer, over four innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

Game Notes

Each of the Mets next 16 games and 24 of the their 30 remaining games are against teams who currently have records below .500. The Mets are 45-18 against teams with a record below .500 this year, giving them a .714 winning percentage.

Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte have record at least 15 doubles, 15 home runs and stolen 15 bases this season. They are the first pair of Mets teammates to accomplish that feat in the same season since Carlos Beltrán, José Reyes and David Wright did so in 2008.

The Mets have been in first place since April 12, a streak of 143 consecutive days. According to Elias, it’s the fourth longest-streak in franchise history.

Let’s Go Mets!