Good morning Mets fans! The New York Mets (70-67) took down the Washington Nationals (77-59) 7-3 on Labor Day in the first game of the two teams’ three-game series. Now a pair of Cy Young Award winners will face off as Jacob deGrom (8-8, 2.66 ERA) and Max Scherzer (9-5, 2.46 ERA) will take the mound in the second game of the series.

Latest Mets News

The Mets are set to take on the Nats at 7:05 p.m. EDT, with coverage on SNY, WCBS 880 and ESPN Deportes 1050.

Kevin Kernan of the New York Post wrote about how Brandon Nimmo‘s presence is already affecting the Mets in a positive way.

The Brooklyn Cyclones clinched the No. 1 seed in the NYPL Playoffs after their 4-1 victory over the Staten Island Yankees. They will be returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

The Syracuse Mets forced a Game 141 with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The one-game tiebreaker to determine who will be crowned IL North Division champion, will be played in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starting at 1:05 p.m. EDT.

Latest MLB News

The Detroit Tigers announced the passing of Double-A Erie catcher Chace Numata. The 27-year-old died Monday after sustaining injuries from a skateboarding accident on Friday.

Edwin Encarnacion‘s rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is over according to Conor Foley of The Times-Tribune. He is ready to be activated by the New York Yankees.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of their top prospect Gavin Lux. They also reinstated Julio Urias from the restricted list, recalled Josh Sborz from Triple-A Oklahoma City and transferred Tyler White to the 60-day injured list.

There were 5,749 home runs hit in Triple-A during the 2019 season. That was a substantial increase from the 3,652 home runs hit in 2018.

In the AL Wild Card race, the Tampa Bay Rays hold a 0.5-game lead in the first Wild Card spot and the Cleveland Indians hold a 1.0-game lead over the Oakland Athletics for the second Wild Card spot. The Boston Red Sox are also in the mix, being 5.5 games behind the second Wild Card.

In the NL Wild Card race, the Nationals hold a 3.5-game lead in the first Wild Card spot and the Chicago Cubs hold a 2.5-game lead in the second Wild Card spot. The Philadelphia Phillies (71-65; 2.5 game back), Arizona Diamondbacks (71-67; 3.5 games back), Milwaukee Brewers (70-67; 4.0 games back), Mets (70-67; 4.0 games back) and San Francisco Giants (66-71; 8.0 games back) and are all on the outside looking in.

Latest NL East News

The Atlanta Braves (85-54) remain atop the NL East standings, followed by the Nationals (77-59; 6.5 games back), Phillies (71-65; 12.5 games back), Mets (70-67; 14.0 games back) and Miami Marlins (48-88; 35.5 games back).

The Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 and the Braves beat the Blue Jays 6-3. The Marlins had the day off.

Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post compared the excitement surrounding the Nationals in 2019 as a competitive team, to their low attendance rates.

Bobby Cox made his first return to SunTrust Park since suffering a stroke five months ago.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Gianna Arantes broke down Marcus Stroman‘s start from Sunday.

Ryan Finkelstein wrote about Todd Frazier and Edwin Diaz who were our “MMO Players of the Week.”

Brian Devine wrote about Nimmo’s successful return to the Mets lineup.

Daniel Muras recapped all the games played by the Mets’ minor league affiliates on Sunday.

This Day in Mets History

1978: Lee Mazzilli hit a home run from both sides of the plate. He was the first Met in franchise history to do so in the same game.

2007: Pedro Martinez reached 3,000 strikeouts in the Mets’ 11-4 victory over the Reds. The eight-time All-Star became the 15th pitcher in MLB history to reach said milestone.

Birthdays: Corey Oswalt turns 26 and Ced Landrum turns 56.