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Strasburg, Harvey meet in Nats-Mets finale
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 5/19/2016  at  5:34:00 AM
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By Brad Kallet

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (24-16)

at NEW YORK METS (22-17)

First pitch: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: Washington -112, New York +102, Line: 6.5

After splitting the first two games of the series, Matt Harvey and the Mets square off against Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals in the rubber game of the series.

RHP Noah Syndergaard outdueled RHP Max Scherzer on Tuesday night at Citi Field in the opener of the series, but the Nationals (24-16) evened the set against the Mets (22-17) on Wednesday with a commanding 7-1 win. The Mets currently sit 1 ½ games behind the first-place Nationals, with the Phillies (24-17) sandwiched between the two. We saw a classic pitchers’ duel on Tuesday, and another one might be in store on Thursday. RHP Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95 ERA, 65 SO, 15 BB, 4 HR in 55 IP), who has been brilliant, will square off against RHP Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.93 ERA, 41 SO, 13 BB, 4 HR in 45 2/3 IP), who is having the worst season of his career. 1B Lucas Duda (.236, 7 HR, 19 RBI, .299 OBP) is expected to return to the lineup after missing two straight games with a stiff back. The Nationals have gone 24-16 against the Mets since 2014, including a 15-7 mark at Citi Field. The Mets are 10-7 at home this season, while the Nats have posted a 12-9 road mark.

In his first series against his former team, 2B Daniel Murphy (.395, 5 HR, 25 RBI, .424 OBP), the National League’s leading hitter, has gone 2-for-7 with two RBIs. Mets pitching kept RF Bryce Harper (.254, 11 HR, 29 RBI, .455 OBP)—arguably the best player in baseball—in check in the opener, as the reigning NL MVP went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. But he was a headache on Wednesday, walking four times and scoring a run. Aside from Murphy and Harper, manager Dusty Baker hasn’t gotten nearly enough production from the top half of his lineup. CF Ben Revere (.096, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .158 OBP), LF Jayson Werth (.222, 6 HR, 20 RBI, .291 OBP), 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.239, 4 HR, 17 RBI, .307 OBP) and 3B Anthony Rendon (.237, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .328 OBP) have all been dreadful at the plate. Harper hasn’t been able to touch Harvey in his career, going 0-for-20 with seven strikeouts. Werth (4-for-19 with 11 SO) and Zimmerman (4-for-17 with 1 HR) have also struggled against the former All-Star, though Rendon (4-for-13) has had some success against him. In nine career starts against the Mets, Strasburg is 4-3 with a 2.78 ERA.

The Mets’ offense has been all or nothing in 2016. New York leads the National League in homers (56) but is 12th in average (.236), tied for 10th in OBP (.314) and fourth in strikeouts (336). The Mets have had a very difficult time getting runners in from third with less than two outs, as they’re hitting just .208 with runners in scoring position (last in NL). CF Yoenis Cespedes (.289, 13 HR, 33 RBI, .368 OBP)—tied for the major league lead in homers—and LF Michael Conforto (.281, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .354 OBP) are the club’s most dangerous hitters, and 2B Neil Walker (.254, 10 HR, 20 RBI, .306 OBP)—Murphy’s replacement—has gotten off to a strong start, though he’s cooled considerably in recent weeks. 3B David Wright (.221, 4 HR, 8 RBI, .362 OBP), the club’s captain, has looked like a shell of his former self. Wright (6-for-22 with 9 S0) and Walker (3-for-11 with 1 HR) have put up some good at-bats against Strasburg, though Duda (2-for-12 with 1 HR) has had trouble with him. RF Curtis Granderson (.205, 7 HR, 12 RBI, .297 OBP) is 3-for-13 lifetime against the 27-year-old with an RBI, four walks and four strikeouts. In 10 career start against the Nationals, Harvey is 3-3 with a 2.05 ERA.


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