NY Mets (77-61) at Washington (71-67)
When: Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Time: 7:05 ET
TV: ESPN Radio: XM 183
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The New York Mets dramatic season continued last night with their biggest comeback win of the year. The Mets were down 7-1 after 6 innings and it looked as if the Nationals would get back to within 4 games of New York, but the Mets scored 6 runs in the 7th and went on to win 8-7. Kirk Nieuwenhuis broke a 7-7 tie in the 8th inning with a pinch-hit homerun off of Jonathan Papelbon and Jeurys Familia closed out the game with his 38th save of the year. The Mets are now 6 games clear of Washington in the National League East and have serious momentum after two comeback wins in two days. Jacob deGrom will go tonight for the sweep. He has been the Mets best pitcher this year with a 12-7 record, 2.40 ERA, and 175 strikeouts. Lately though, he’s been struggling. Over his last three starts against Boston, Miami, and Philadelphia, he has 6.75 ERA. He is 1-2 in 4 starts against Washington this year.
As we mentioned in our preview yesterday, the Nationals bullpen has been a nightmare. Once again they blow a chance to get right back into the N.L. East race and couldn’t hold a big lead. Blake Treinen surrendered 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning, while Drew Storen blew the save giving up a hit and 3 walks in just a third of an inning. Papelbon joined the misery by letting up the game-winning homerun. They now turn to Stephen Strasburg to stop the bleeding. Strasburg has not had a good season at all. He is 8-6 with a 4.35 ERA in just 91 innings of work. He has a lot better ERA (3.60) at home versus the road, but has let up 6 runs in his last two home starts. Strasburg is 1-1 against the Mets this year in two starts, but didn’t reach the 7th inning in either start. The Nationals really need a dominant effort from him tonight to maybe salvage the season and keep Washington in it.
This is an easy pick for me tonight. The Mets could be a team of destiny this year and the Nationals are reeling bad. Look for deGrom to shut down the Nats and Yoenis Cespedes to continue his hot hitting. I’m calling for a sweep.
Pick: Mets +100
