Series Preview: Mets Won’t Overlook Youthful Nats

If you believe there are “trap games,” these three with the Washington Nationals qualify. Sandwiched between series with the mighty Phillies, the playoff-hopeful Mets (81-68) face the playing-out-the-string Nats (68-81) to start the final Citi Field homestand of the season.

I gotta believe the Mets, tied with the Atlanta Braves for the final Wild Card spot, recognize the stakes. That doesn’t mean they will sweep. Sometimes, I think, sports fans forget that even inferior teams are filled with elite athletes who can, for a game or three, perform better than the elite athletes on their favorite team.

Also, the Nats are 24-28 (not awful) in the second half. Washington beat the Braves eight out of 13 this season and the Yankees two out of three. They are capable. They are young, fresh-faced, and a different team from when they last saw them. The Mets have not taken the Nats lightly yet this year, winning eight of ten. No reason to expect they would start now.

METS BLOW LEADS IN PHILLY

The Mets lost two out of three over the weekend in Philadelphia. New York led 4-0 on Saturday and 1-0 in the eighth inning on Sunday before letting those leads slip away. Edwin Díaz (5-4, 3.74 ERA) gave up a walk-off single to J.T. Realmuto on Sunday with two outs to send a sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd into a tizzy. It was dreadful. “We had an opportunity, and we didn’t get it done,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We just have to turn the page. We have to continue to play well.”

WHAT’S THE STORY WITH FRANCISCO?

The biggest weekend loss was Francisco Lindor, who hurt his back going into second base standing on a double on Friday night. He was pulled from the game, missed Saturday, and played one inning Sunday before being removed. An MRI is scheduled for Monday. Fingers crossed. Luisangel Acuña was called up from Triple-A Syracuse and should see most of the action at shortstop until further word on Lindor.

While the Mets battle Washington, the Braves will wrap up their series with the Dodgers at home on Monday before heading to Cincinnati. In other Wild Card scheduling news, the Diamondbacks are at Colorado for three games to start the week, while the Padres host the Astros. The Padres enter Monday in the top Wild Card spot, 3.5 games ahead of the Mets and Braves. Arizona holds the second Wild Card spot, two games up on the Mets and Braves. It’s peak scoreboard-watching season.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

• Monday: Jake Irvin (10-12, 4.19 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.35 ERA): Manaea is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA in three September starts. In his only start against the Nats this year, he gave up one run in seven innings and struck out five. Irvin is coming off a victory over the Braves (thank you, Jake), where he gave up one run in six innings. But in the start before that, he gave up six runs in five innings, and his August ERA was 6.61 over six starts. He faced the Mets twice this year, tossing an eight-inning, one-hit gem on July 4 and followed that up by getting shelled for six runs on nine hits in a loss.
• Tuesday: Mitchell Parker (7-9, 4.24 ERA) vs. Tylor Megill (3-5, 4.48 ERA): Megill’s last outing was one of his best: six shutout innings and nine strikeouts against the Blue Jays. In his one start vs. Washington, he gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings. Like Megill, Parker is coming off a good performance. The lefty allowed no earned runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings against Miami while striking out five. He surrendered five runs in six innings vs. the Mets on July 3.
• Wednesday: DJ Herz (4-7, 3.70 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (9-9, 3.91 ERA): Quintana hasn’t given up a run in September, hurling 13 2/3 scoreless frames in two starts. He battled Washington twice in July with good results: 14 innings, no runs, five hits, four walks, six strikeouts. Herz has put together a pair of good September starts, too. In 10 innings, the rookie has given up just one run, fanned ten and walked four. The 23-year-old lefty is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA in two starts vs. New York this year.

PREDICTION

Lindor is hurt, and the Mets lost a pair of tough ones in Philly. It might be tempting to think the 2024 vibes brought to you by a rally pimp, Grimace and Candelita have run their course. But this team has surprised me too many times. I remember where I was when Jake Diekman struck out Aaron Judge, when Mark Vientos walked off the Reds (and the Cardinals) and when Lindor broke up a no-hitter in Toronto. (It’s easy because I was always in the same chair. ). I think they have one more run in them. A sweep it is.

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