New York @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2010 ) NY Mets 4, Washington 1
The New York Mets look to take their season series against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
New York and Washington have split their eight games this year following a 4-1 Mets win that evened the current series at a game apiece.
Both teams are playing for next year at this point. Tuesday’s game saw a pair of rookies make their major league debut against each other, with New York’s Dillon Gee picking up his first win over Yunesky Maya.
Gee threw seven innings of two-hit ball in his debut, allowing only a solo homer while striking out four and walking three. The 24-year-old was taking Johan Santana’s spot in the rotation, as the club’s ace deals with a pectoral strain.
Another Mets rookie did most of the heavy lifting at the plate. First baseman Ike Davis cracked a three-run shot in the first inning and is hitting .345 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs at Nationals Park this season.
The win was only the third in the last nine games for New York, which has allowed at least five runs in six of those games. The Mets (68-71) own the league’s eighth-best team ERA at 3.80.
New York is waiting on a couple of its superstars to get back in the lineup. Jose Reyes, who has missed the last 11 games with an oblique strain, has been taking batting practice with the team and could return any day now. Meanwhile, the Mets hope to have third baseman David Wright back in the lineup after he sat out Tuesday’s game with a bruised finger.
Wright has a 12-for-39 career mark against Livan Hernandez (9-10, 3.81 ERA), who gets the call for the Nationals (60-79).
This will be the first start for Hernandez since he signed a one-year contract extension with Washington. He was hit hard in his last trip to the hill, giving up eight runs over 4 1/3 innings during an 8-5 loss against Pittsburgh on Friday. However, he has been great against the Mets this season, going 1-0 in three starts with a 1.33 ERA.
New York goes with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (9-6, 2.91 ERA), who’s coming off a tough start in his last trip. Dickey was hammered for a season-high seven runs in six innings against the Chicago Cubs. He struck out three, but gave up a pair of home runs in 81 pitches.
It was only the second time Dickey allowed more than five earned runs since June 28.