He’s Baaa-Aaack!!!
The New York Mets (69-65) have found their stride just in the nick of time. The Mets are 9-4 since their All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes returned, propelling the team right to the top of the wild card race. The Mets enter their first September series just two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot. The Mets won the first three games against the Marlins, but failed to pull off the four-game sweep. Their ten-game home stand will come to an end as the team welcomes the NL East leading Washington Nationals (78-55) to Citi Field.
Series Preview
Game 1 – The Mets will start the series off by sending their workhorse to the mound. Noah Syndergaard (12-7 2.55 ERA) will take the hill against A.J. Cole (0-1 4.97 ERA). Cole will be making his third start of the season after being called up when Strasburg was placed on the DL. Cole hasn’t been great, allowing seven runs in 12.2 innings. Syndergaard has shown his ace potential in the last three starts, going 3-0 with 1.31 ERA and striking out 21. The Nationals have been the thorn in Thor’s side this season, as he is 0-2 with a 9.39 ERA in his last two starts against the Nationals.
Game 2 – The second game will feature one of the most reliable pitchers in the National League this season against a pitcher in his second career start. Robert Gsellman (1-1 3.72 ERA) will start his second career game after allowing four runs in six innings to the Phillies last weekend. Tanner Roark (14-7 2.87 ERA) has quietly put together one of the best seasons in the National league this season, ranking 4th in wins, 7th in ERA, 4th in innings pitched, and 3rd in games started, and 16th in strikeouts. Roark owns a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched against the Mets this season. He has an MLB-high eight outings of at least seven scoreless innings this season.
Game 3 – The Nationals will send Cy Young contender Max Scherzer (15-7 2.89 ERA) to the mound in game three. Scherzer is 3-0 in his last three starts and has held opponents to a .179 batting average in the second half of the season. Scherzer has owned the Mets this season, owning a 0.87 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. Seth Lugo (2-2 3.60) will face off against Scherzer, coming off two straight big wins against the Cardinals and Marlins, only allowing two runs in 11 innings in the two starts.
Series Notes
Daniel Murphy is hitting .423 (22-for-52) with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 13 games against the Mets this season.
Washington has won three straight to finish a stretch of 20 games in 20 days and is 38-16 against the NL East.
Jose Reyes is raging hot and has recorded multiple hits in eight of his last 17 games.
Final Thoughts
Any Mets fans can reasonably believe that the Mets will not catch the Nationals in the NL East. If the Mets can stay hot and take at least two out of three in this series, it can give them huge momentum heading into their nine-game road trip where they will face two bottom feeders of the National League in the Reds (55-77) and Braves (50-83), before facing the Nationals for the final time of the season at Nationals Park. With only 28 games remaining, every game is crucial down the stretch. The Mets can start off an exciting September run with a couple of statement wins against the Nationals.
Prediction
Mets take two of three.
