Washington Nationals: Storylines to watch this weekend in Queens

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The Washington Nationals are at Citi Field this weekend for the final time this year. Here are our 5 storylines to watch against the New York Mets

In the beginning of their nine game road trip, the Washington Nationals (92-60) were able to win two out of three games against the Atlanta Braves. During this series, Ryan Zimmerman hit his 34^th home run of the season, which is a career-high and Anthony Rendon had his 40^th double (also a career-high)

As for the starting pitching, the Nats got good performances from Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez, and Tanner Roark. Plus, in their last six games, the bullpen has allowed only one run. The Nats are 3.5 games behind the Dodgers for the top seed, but they would hold the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.

Tonight, the Washington Nationals are at Citi Field to begin a three game series against the New York Mets (65-87). This season, the Nats are 11-5 against New York and they are 6-1 in games played at Citi Field.

It has been a rough season for the Mets and it has continued in the second half. They are 7-12 in 19 games this month and they are 17-32 since August 1. Despite the losing record, the Mets have scored 91 runs, which is the fourth most in the National League over that span. Five Mets are in double figures in RBI’s, including Jose Reyes (leads the team with 15).

The starting pitching has continued to struggle due to all the injuries to the staff this season. In September, the only pitcher with a over .500 record is tonight’s starter, Robert Gsellman. Jacob deGrom has been good, but the team is trying to figure out what is wrong with Matt Harvey.

For the Nats, Mets pitching and Citi Field have been great for the offense this year. Four players have four home runs against New York this season. Those players are Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wieters, and Adam Lind.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups in this series

Tonight: Edwin Jackson (5-6, 4.77 ERA) vs. Robert Gsellman (7-7, 5.22, 7:10 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN

Tomorrow: Stephen Strasburg (14-4, 2.60) vs. Matt Harvey (5-6, 6.59) – 7:10 p.m, MASN

Sunday: Max Scherzer (15-6, 2.59) vs. Jacob deGrom (15-9, 3.55) Matt Harvey (5-6, 6.59) – 1:10 p.m, MASN

Now, here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on during this weekend series

Nimmo finding his way on base

With all of the injuries the Mets have had on offense, there aren’t many players that have stood out for them since the All-Star break. With that being said, one player to watch for New York is outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who has a chance to make a good impression going into next year

Over his last 28 games, Nimmo only has a .264 batting average, but he is finding a way to get o base consistently. He has a .405 on-base percentage in that span and his .434 OBP is the second highest on the Mets in September (Asdrubal Cabrera is first (.441).

When you look at Nimmo’s numbers, he has not provided many extra-base hits for the Mets. This year, he has seven doubles and four home runs to go with 26 singles. Despite the lack of power, the ability to get on base and draw walks (25 since the All-Star break) can go a long way.

Nimmo is 8-for-25 (.320) against the Washington Nationals this season with a home run and two RBI’s. The only other two teams that he has home runs against this year are the Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds (two). That home run came against Tanner Roark and he’s 2-for-10 against Scherzer and Strasburg with four strikeouts in his career.

Pitching matchup of the weekend

For the fourth time in their respective careers, it will be Strasburg vs. Harvey tomorrow night at Citi Field. In these two pitchers, their seasons have gone in opposite directions. First, let’s start with the positive (Strasburg).

Strasburg did lose his 35 inning scoreless streak on Sunday, but still put up a good effort against one of the contending teams in the National League. He went six innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out eight, and walked three on 94 pitches.

In his last eight starts, Strasburg has had one of the more dominant stretches of his career. He is 5-1 with a 0.72 ERA and has 62 strikeouts over his last 50 innings. As I wrote earlier this week, he has put himself into the Cy Young conversation because of this recent stretch. Plus, he has held teams to a .198 average away from Nats Park.

At Citi Field, Strasburg is 7-1 with a 2.10 ERA in nine career starts and he has a 2.33 ERA in three starts against the Mets this year (1-1 record). Asdrubal Cabrera is 3-for-14 against him with a pair of home runs and three RBI’s.

Meanwhile, in New York, Harvey is trying to figure out what is going wrong because he has run out of answers. In a year filled with injuries and not showing up to the ballpark, Harvey told the media after his outing Monday that he doesn’t know what the solution is:

This is Matt Harvey. It’s raw, it’s honest. Baseball can be awfully cruel, folks: pic.twitter.com/mA297Y8EoE
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) September 19, 2017

Harvey went four innings on Monday, gave up seven runs on 12 hits, struck out two, and walked two on just 76 pitches. He has only thrown more than 80 pitches once in his last four outings (13.19 ERA, .457 batting average against).

Two years ago, Harvey had a ton of confidence and now it is almost gone. The question now is whether or not the Mets will tender a contract to him for 2018 or will he become a free agent? You would think New York would give him the contract and see what he has next year, but it is not a guarantee.

While Harvey has a 2.99 ERA in 14 career starts against the Nats, he hasn’t beaten them since 2015 and has given up 15 runs in 18.1 innings. Daniel Murphy is 3-for-9 against him with a pair of home runs and four RBI’s.

On paper, Strasburg has the clear edge, but it’s a stark reminder of how the seasons have gone for both of these Scott Boras clients this year. Two years ago, this would be an even pitching matchup, but Harvey can’t seem to find what was dominant for him then.

Zimmerman in good form at the right time

If the Nats are going to do damage in the postseason, they will need Ryan Zimmerman to contribute in a big way offensively. Zimmerman may be heading into October on the right note after his performances the last couple of days.

Since last Sunday’s clutch three-run home run against the Dodgers, the Nats first baseman has three home runs and eight RBI’s in the last four games. This month, Zimmerman is hitting .317 with five home runs and 15 RBI’s (both lead the team).

The most important thing for Zimmerman is to get all the moving parts of his swing in order. If he can do that, he should have another strong postseason. Plus, Nats fans have to know he can have the same kind of numbers that he has against the Mets this season.

In 13 games against the Mets, Zimmerman is hitting .304 with four home runs and 13 RBI’s. Now, two of those home runs came against Addison Reed (no longer on the team). However, he is 2-for-8 against deGrom this year with a home run and two RBI’s.

While these last ten games don’t have that much importance to the Nats, the team hopes that Zimmerman stays locked in at the plate and keeps this good rhythm he has going right now into October.

Can the Nats finally figure out deGrom?

This year, the Nats have been able to take care of business against the Mets, but there’s one pitcher that they can’t seem to beat. Out of the five losses that they have against New York, three of them have come against deGrom. In four starts against the Nats, he’s 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA and has 38 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.

In a year filled with many injuries for the Mets pitching staff, deGrom has stayed healthy. His start was scratched from tonight to Sunday night because of a stomach ailment

Jacob deGrom recently experienced nausea, upset stomach, so Mets pushed back his start. New rotation:

Fri: Gsellman
Sat: Harvey
Sun: deGrom
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 21, 2017

If you go to Baseball Reference, deGrom is one of only two pitchers in the National League that won’t make the playoffs that have a top ten WAR (4.5 – seventh in the NL). The only other non-playoff contending pitcher on that list is Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (4.3 – ninth).

Over the last month, deGrom has had a couple of bad starts against the Phillies and Marlins, but he has been consistent for most of the season. If you look at his last ten starts, he has given up two runs or fewer in five of them and has three double-digit strikeout games.

In those five matchups with the Nats, only four players have driven in a run against deGrom. Adrian Sanchez and Trea Turner each have a RBI, but the two players that have three RBI’s against him are Zimmerman and Matt Wieters (each have a home run).

Since deGrom will now go up against Scherzer in the finale of this series, expect a great pitcher’s duel between two of the best pitchers in the National League. Scherzer is 4-2 at Citi Field and has given up seven runs in six starts since joining the Washington Nationals.

For the Nats, this could be one of their last tests against a top pitcher before the postseason.

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Another audition for Edwin Jackson

There aren’t many spots left on the Washington Nationals postseason roster, but if Edwin Jackson wants one in the bullpen, he is going to have to step up his game in a big way. After being a pleasant surprise in the rotation in July and August, his production has dipped in September.

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Over the last 11.1 innings that Jackson has pitched, he has given up 16 earned runs and seven home runs. Back on September 15, he couldn’t even finish the third inning in a loss to the Dodgers. This could be one of Jackson’s last chances to make a good impression on the coaching staff if he wants a spot on the playoff roster.

However, this might be a bad matchup for Jackson tonight at Citi Field. While the ballpark doesn’t give up too many home runs, the Mets have 86 home runs in the second half (third in the NL). With that being said, 49 of those home runs are from players who are either injured or on another team right now.

If there’s one thing that will help Jackson in this matchup tonight, it’s the fact that the Mets don’t have much experience facing him compared to what the Dodgers had. The only three players with 10+ at-bats against him are Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Norichika Aoki.

Next: Doolittle finds his mojo

Which storylines are you keeping an eye on this weekend in this Nationals-Mets series? Let us know in the comments section below.

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