Mets at Nationals
The New York Mets aim for their second straight series win against the Washington Nationals when the teams meet in the rubber match at Nationals Park on Thursday night. After losing seven straight series to Washington, New York took two of three from the Nationals at home earlier this year and evened the current set with a resounding 10-1 win Wednesday.
Marlon Byrd had a pair of homers to help support Dillon Gee's solid start as the Mets snapped a four-game slide and sent Washington to its fifth loss in seven games. The Nationals also fell back below .500 and into third place in the National League East, only 4 1/2 games up on New York. The Mets were just 4-14 against the Nationals in 2012, but can match that victory total for this season with a triumph Thursday.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Shaun Marcum (0-6, 5.71 ERA) vs. Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.64)
Marcum continues to flirt with his first win in a Mets uniform, but remains without one after suffering the loss at Miami on Friday. Marcum has lasted at least six innings in four straight starts, posting a 4.10 ERA in the process. The 31-year-old righty has yielded just seven hits in 13 career innings over two starts against Washington.
Like Marcum, Gonzalez has found wins hard to come by, going 0-1 despite a 2.14 ERA over his last five starts. He let up only one run on three hits in seven spectacular innings at Atlanta on Saturday but the Nationals lost 2-1 in 10 innings. Gonzalez has twice given up five runs in four innings this year, the first coming at New York on April 20.
WALK-OFFS
1. Washington's starting lineup Wednesday is a combined 4-for-38 against Marcum.
2. Seven of Byrd's eight home runs have come on the road.
3. Nationals SS Ian Desmond had his team's lone RBI Wednesday. He is 11-for-34 during a nine-game hitting streak and has played 40 straight games without committing an error.
PREDICTION: Nationals 5, Mets 3