This Tuesday the (55-104) Washington Nationals and the (98-61) New York Mets will play game two of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:10 PM EST inside Citi Field. The last time that these two teams matched up, the Nationals ended up stealing two of three games. This will also be the last regular season series for both of these teams.
The Washington Nationals are coming into this one after splitting a four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals looked great on the mound in their two wins, as they will need their pitching to stay hot if they want to challenge the Mets on the road.
The New York Mets are entering this one after getting swept by the Braves in their previous three-game series. The Mets struggled at the dish, as they only scored seven combined runs in three games. They will have to heat up at the plate if they want to finish this regular season strong.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Nationals are 3-7 in their last 10 games played, as their poor play has kept them out of the playoff race this season. They are still 31 games back from the Philadelphia Phillies for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. Washington is also 45 games back from the first-place Atlanta Braves, as the Nationals will not be making the postseason in 2022.
At the plate, the Nationals are scoring 3.88 runs per game and they are hitting .249 as a team. This is the 26th most runs scored per game and the 11th highest overall team batting average. They have shown that they can consistently make contact with the ball, but they have struggled with men in scoring position. Washington has also realized that they don't have much power littered throughout their lineup. They are only averaging .87 bombs per game, which is the fourth least in the MLB. I would expect the Nationals to stay conservative once they reach ba se safely, as well. They have only swiped 73 bases this season, which is the 20th most in the league.
According to MLB.com, the Nationals will start Paolo Espino on the mound, as he is 0-8 this season with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 5.0 innings, but he gave up five hits and four earned runs to the Braves. He also gave up two home runs in that start. The Washington bullpen is giving up the 17th most runs per game. As a team, the Nationals are surrendering 5.41 runs per game, which is the second most in the MLB.