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Washington Nationals: Players To Watch In Final Mets Series Of 2016

By Ricky Keeler

Sep 3, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (13) is congratulated by third baseman Jose Reyes (7) after scoring against the Washington Nationals on a RBI single by Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson (not pictured) during the third inning of the game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (13) is congratulated by third baseman Jose Reyes (7) after scoring against the Washington Nationals on a RBI single by Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson (not pictured) during the third inning of the game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Sep 7, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Mets Starter Noah Syndergaard

Syndergaard will take the ball for the Mets tomorrow night against A.J. Cole, which is my favorite matchup of the week. Of course, with all of the Mets injuries in the rotation, they need Syndergaard to pick up a win almost anytime he takes the mound.

Against the Reds on September 7, Syndergaard threw five shutout innings against the Reds in a win. With that being said, his command was a concern as he walked four batters and threw 95 pitches just to finish five innings. The right-hander is 4-1 in his last six starts, but that one loss was against the Nats on September 2.

This season, the 24-year-old right-hander is 1-3 against the Washington Nationals with a 4.15 ERA in four starts. The Washington Nationals offense only has one home run against Syndergaard, but they have 19 hits in 21 innings and have been able to excel on the basepaths.

In those four matchups, the Washington Nationals are 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts. Turner and Harper each have two of those stolen bases. Back on September 2, the two of them each stole third and came around to score in that 4-1 win.

Since the beginning of spring training, there has been an emphasis on aggressive baserunning and stealing bases by the Washington Nationals. In these matchups against Syndergaard, he doesn’t hold runners on. That allows them to utilize that strategy and it allows them to have success on offense. I would expect the same thing to happen tomorrow night.

Next: Nats Starter To Watch

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