Washington Nationals vs. Mets Series Preview (5/23-5/25)
By Ricky Keeler
After taking two of three from the Mets last week, the Washington Nationals will host them in a three game series beginning tonight
Tonight, the Washington Nationals (27-17) will begin their second series in two weeks against the New York Mets (25-18). Last week, the Nats won two of three games at Citi Field. Now, the two teams will play three games at Nats Park.
Over the weekend, the Nats took two of three against the Miami Marlins and had a chance to sweep the series, but failed to capitalize on a bases loaded, no out situation in the ninth on Saturday. However, they have gotten more production in the lineup from Anthony Rendon (10-for-20 with seven RBI’s in his last seven games) and leadoff hitter Ben Revere (8-for-23 with four RBI’s).
As for the Mets, they played the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend at Citi Field and swept all three games, including a walk-off single by David Wright on Saturday. The one injury concern for the Mets coming into this series is first baseman Lucas Duda. Duda was placed on the DL today due to a stress fracture in his back:
The diagnosis on Lucas Duda is a stress fracture in his lower back. There is no timetable for his return. "It will be a while." #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 23, 2016
Even though the Mets have hit the most home runs of any team in the National League (60) with Yoenis Cespedes leading the team (14), they have had issues getting hits with runners in scoring position. Right now, Terry Collins’ squad has a .210 batting average in those situations. Against the Nats last week, the Mets scored four runs in three games with three of them coming via the home run.
Before the series starts tonight, here is my breakdown of the three pitching matchups:
Next: Tonight's Matchup