Let’s take a look at the projected pitching matchups for the series against the New York Mets.
Friday, August 27, RHP Paolo Espino (3-4, 4.28 ERA) vs. LHP Rich Hill (6-5, 4.13 ERA) | First Pitch: 7:10 pm
First up for the Washington Nationals in New York will be the crafty right-hander Paolo Espino. He has had a solid season, mostly pitching due to injuries, etc to other members of the staff. He has done well, but the month of August has been rough with his ERA sitting at 9.42 in that time frame. His last outing against the Mets was cut short due to a rainstorm, but in the inning, he pitched there was still struggle as seen by the run given up.
Opposite of Espino is one of the oldest players in baseball, Rich Hill. Hill has had a serviceable season thus far but is unable to pitch deep into games. He has yet to go past the five-inning mark in August and has not surpassed 80 pitches. Still, he has managed to give up three runs or less in those outings so it hasn’t all been bad for Hill.
The game can be seen on MASN and heard on 106.7, the Fan.
Saturday, August 28, RHP Sean Nolin (0-2, 9.00 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (9-12, ) 2.85 ERA | First Pitch: 7:10 pm
The Saturday night matchup will feature veteran right-hander Sean Nolin for Washington. He has only made two starts, one against the Mets. He has thrown a total of seven innings and given up seven runs. Not ideal, but the state of the Nationals pitching staff does not afford them many options at the moment. This will only be Nolin’s second career start against the Mets.
For the Mets, they will be putting Marcus Stroman on the mound to face Nolin. He has had a great season with his ERA sitting at 2.85. His ERA in August is 3.72, mainly due to average outings against the Reds and Giants. Stroman pitched 5.1 innings against the Nationals on August 12th where he gave up only one run and struck out eight batters. He now has three appearances against Washington with a record of 1-1 and a 5.18 ERA.
Sunday, August 29, RHP Erick Fedde (7-12, 5.82 ERA) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (1-3, 4.07 ERA) | First Pitch: 1:10 pm
The series finale will give us Erick Fedde fresh off of a career-high strikeout game on the 24th. In that game against the Marlins, Fedde managed to pitch 6.1 innings with 10 strikeouts on the night. Fedde has pitched against the Mets recently, game two of the August 12th doubleheader where he threw four innings and gave up two runs. Fedde has 11 appearances against the Mets with an ERA of 4.29.
The Mets pitcher in the finale is rookie Tylor Megill, who is having a decent season as seen by his 4.07 ERA. He has been inconsistent, giving up only three runs in July and now 19 in the month of August. It has also been hit or misses on whether or not he will pitch deep into a game or not. This will be Megill’s first start against the Nationals in his career.
Series Notes: New York Mets
- The Mets, who once led the NL East, are now in 3rd and 7 games behind Atlanta at the time of writing.
- Prior to the final game against the Giants, the Mets are only 5-13 over their last 18 games.
- Pete Alonso leads the Mets in five major batting categories: average, hits, homeuns, RBIs and OBP.
- The Mets have an ERA of 3.79, led by starters Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker since deGrom is on the IL.
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