Mets vs Nationals Series Preview 4/23-4/25

Hey all, Steve here. To say that the scrubbies handled the Mets all series long in Chicago would be an understatement. The Mets defense was exposed and their offense continued to be colder than the weather on this last road trip. The Mets will be throwing a couple of aces against the Nationals this weekend, so it will be interesting to see if the offense can wake up enough to grab a couple of wins and the series. Hopefully, these guys can get on track at home. Before we break down each game, here is a quick look at the early standings in the NL East:

Mets (7-7) vs Nationals (7-9)

Game 1

Jacob deGrom (1-1, 0.45 ERA) vs Erick Fedde (1-1, 5.56 ERA)

At first glance, this one is a no-brainer. deGrom vs most other pitchers would be a no-brainer. The problem is that the Mets don’t know how to score runs when deGrom starts. Actually, right now they just don’t know how to score runs at all. Fedde’s ERA is nothing to write home about, but it is worth pointing out that he is 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA over his last 2 starts including a career high 9 strikeouts against the Diamondbacks.

Mets against Fedde

Conforto – 7 AB .429 1 HR 3 RBI

McNeil – 7 AB .714 0 HR 1 RBI

Nimmo – 10 AB .200 0 HR 0 RBI

Smith – 8 AB .000 0 HR 0 RBI

Nationals against deGrom

Starlin Castro – 28 AB .321 0 HR 2 RBI

Josh Harrison – 9 AB .333 0 HR 0 RBI

Jordy Mercer – 12 AB .333 0 HR 0 RBI

Victor Robles – 12 AB .250 0 HR 0 RBI

Kyle Schwarber – 9 AB .111 0 HR 0 RBI

Trea Turner – 39 AB .282 1 HR 3 RBI

Ryan Zimmerman – 19 AB .105 1 HR 4 RBI

Game 2

Marcus Stroman (3-0, 0.90 ERA) vs Joe Ross (1-1, 5.87 ERA)

Few pitchers can go 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA and NOT be considered the ace of the staff. Marcus Stroman is one of them and he has been absolutely brilliant thus far. You would think that would quiet some of his critics, but that is not the case. He has started 14 games for the Mets and is 7-2 with an ERA of 3.05 – what is it that we are still criticizing him about?

Mets against Ross

Conforto – 13 AB .462 1 HR 6 RBI

Nimmo – 7 AB .714 0 HR 0 RBI

McNeil – 6 AB .167 1 HR 2 RBI

Nationals against Stroman

Starlin Castro – 16 AB .250 1 HR 2 RBI

Yan Gomes – 7 AB .000 0 HR 0 RBI

Jordy Mercer – 7 AB .000 0 HR 0 RBI

Josh Harrison – 6 AB .333 0 HR 1 RBI

Game 3

TBD vs TBD

Predictions for the series