It’s the continuation of a series between a pair of NL East opponents on opposite ends of the standings in the Big Apple. The Washington Nationals are on the road as they make the trip to face the New York Mets for the second game of a three-game series Saturday night. Washington won the rubber game of their three-game set with the A’s at home in interleague action as they took a 7-5 win in 10 innings Thursday afternoon. New York took the rubber game of their three-game home set with the Dodgers, prevailing 5-3 Thursday afternoon. This article was published prior to the conclusion of the opening game of the series at Citi Field Friday night.
Washington is suffering through another lost season, even with a series win over Oakland, and their World Series championship in 2019 seems like far more than three years ago. The Nationals entered Friday last in the NL East, 38.5 games behind the Mets for the division lead. They were 27.5 games behind the Padres for the final wild card spot in the National League. On Thursday, Washington got four hits from rookie Joey Meneses (two runs, four RBI) along with a pair from Nelson Cruz (RBI) in the win. Meneses hit his seventh homer of the season, a three-run shot, in the 10th inning to give the Nationals a walk-off win. Paolo Espino didn’t factor in the decision as he threw five innings, allowing one run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Hunter Harvey (1-0) earned the win despite allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts over one inning of relief.
&# 13;
Patrick Corbin gets the ball for the Nationals to make his 27th start of the season in this contest. He comes in 5-17 with a 6.56 ERA, a 1.762 WHIP, 45 walks and 113 strikeouts over 127.2 innings of work on the year. Corbin earned the win in his last start, which came against the Reds at home Sunday. He threw six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a 3-2 Nationals win. In his last three starts, Corbin is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, five walks and 11 strikeouts over 17.1 innings of work. Corbin makes his 25th career appearance and 24th start against the Mets in this one. He is 5-10 with a 4.64 ERA, a 1.424 WHIP, 45 walks and 129 strikeouts over 132 innings of action. Corbin is 2-6 with a 5.64 ERA, a 1.424 WHIP, 22 walks and 60 strikeouts over 59 innings in 11 career starts at Citi Field.