The New York Mets welcome in the Washington Nationals for a four game series to close out the first half of the season. Both of these teams have been disappointing, many had the Nationals winning the World Series this season. The Nationals currently sit in third place, 5.5 games behind the first place Braves and Phillies. The Mets have taken four of the six games they have played against the Nationals this season.
Probable Pitching Matchups
(7/12, 7:10 PM) Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.31 ERA) vs. Steven Matz (4-6, 3.31 ERA)
(7/13, 7:10 PM) Tanner Roark (3-11, 4.76 ERA) vs. Noah Syndergaard (4-1, 3.06 ERA)
(7/14, 7:10 PM) TBD vs. Zack Wheeler (2-6, 4.42 ERA)
(7/15, 7:10 PM) Jeremy Hellickson (3-1, 3.47 ERA) vs. Corey Oswalt (0-2, 6.75 ERA)
deGrom Still Receiving No Support
The Mets continue to couple the bad combination of horrible offense and dominant starting pitching. Last night they once again failed to give Jacob deGrom a win after he threw eight shutout innings. Brandon Nimmo continued his breakout year by hitting a pinch-hit three run walk off homer in the tenth inning to give the Mets a win. The Mets are about 95/5 when it comes to whether they will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. If the Mets want to have a chance, they need to win a series. They have not done so in the last 15 series they have played.
Noah Syndergaard will finally make his return to the mound after about a month and a half on the sidelines. The Mets hope to have four starting pitchers they can rely on and they are going to need it if they are going to beat their rivals. These next couple starts for Syndergaard could end up being showcases for buyers at the trade deadline. The Mets have certainly made it know they will shop him for the right price, if it will make their team better in the future.
Rough Season For The Nats
The Nationals have surprised many by hovering around the .500 mark this season. Even with all of the home runs, Bryce Harper has struggled with the bat. He is only hitting .213 and has a mediocre 0.1 WAR. To put that in perspective Todd Frazier, Devin Mesoraco and Jose Bautista all have higher WARs than Harper. He is on pace to set a career high in walks, but he is also on pace to set a career high in strikeouts.
Max Scherzer is having another Cy Young quality season for the Nationals. He leads the NL in strikeouts and innings pitched, it would be the third straight season he leads the NL in strikeouts. 19-year old Juan Soto has come up to the big leagues and amazed everyone so far. Soto is hitting .304 with a 540 slugging and is already ahead of where Harper was when the Nationals brought him up at the age of 19.
Matchups to Lookout For
Asdrubal Cabrera vs. Max Scherzer: 14-61 (.230) 4 Doubles, Home Run, 3 Walks, 18 Strikeouts
Jose Bautista vs. Jeremy Hellickson: 12-35 (.343) Double, Triple, 3 Home Runs, 6 Walks, 6 Strikeouts
Anthony Rendon vs. Zack Wheeler: 7-20 (.350) 3 Walks, 4 Strikeouts
Bryce Harper vs. Zack Wheeler: 4-20 (.250) Home Run, 2 Walks, 9 Strikeouts
Interesting Stats
Matt Adams during night games in 2018: 34-107 (.318) 5 Doubles, 8 Home Runs, 10 Walks, 24 Strikeouts
Noah Syndergaard vs. #3 Hitter in the order in 2018: 5-27 (.185) 2 Doubles, 4 Walks, 9 Strikeouts