Mets at Nationals
Amid a recent hot stretch, the New York Mets talked openly about their ability to catch the Washington Nationals in the National League East, but they're not helping their cause this week in the nation's capital. The first-place Nationals will aim for a three-game sweep of the visiting Mets when the teams meet Wednesday evening.
Daniel Murphy drove in five runs and Bryce Harper had two RBIs to lift Washington to an 11-4 victory in Tuesday's second game of the set, which gave the hosts an 11 1/2-game lead on third-place New York. While the Nationals have won three in a row following a three-game slide, the Mets have lost three straight on the heels of their confidence-boosting 7-1 surge. New York played the Independence Day matinee without outfielders Yoenis Cespedes (cramps) and Curtis Granderson (hip), and fill-in T.J. Rivera (cramps) left in the seventh. The Mets have a good chance at salvaging the finale behind starter Jacob deGrom, who has won four straight starts in dominating fashion.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, SNY (New York), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (8-3, 3.55 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Tanner Roark (6-6, 5.27)
Since allowing eight runs in four innings at Texas on June 6, deGrom has limited four opponents to a total of three earned runs in 32 frames. He has allowed just 15 hits while striking out 31 during that stretch, which includes seven innings with 12 punchouts in a 2-1 win over Philadelphia his last time out. The second of those four straight victories came against Washington on June 18 (eight innings, one unearned run) and the 29-year-old has a 2.95 ERA in 10 career starts against the Nationals.
Roark's struggles continued with his fourth straight loss Friday at St. Louis, where he gave up three runs in three innings while walking a season-high five. He has an ERA of 11.88 over his last four starts, giving up 13 runs in 11 frames in his two home starts during that span. The 30-year-old helped Washington defeat New York on April 21 with 6 2/3 solid innings and he is 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA in his career against the division rivals.
WALK-OFFS
1. Murphy is batting .405 in 31 career games against the Mets.
2. Granderson has been out of the starting lineup in three straight games but he did come off the bench to hit in each of the first two contests of this series.
3. Harper is 7-for-12 with six RBIs over his last three games.