Washington @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2010 ) Washington 2, NY Mets 7

As disappointing as the season has been for the New York Mets, pitcher Mike Pelfrey has a chance to put the finishing touches on a strong personal campaign when the Mets try to complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals in the season finale for both teams today at Citi Field.

Pelfrey (15-9, 3.75 ERA) has enjoyed the best season of his career, and he has a chance to add career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts and ERA with another strong showing today.

The 26-year-old right-hander is going for his third consecutive win overall and his fourth straight at Citi Field, where he is 10-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 18 starts this season.

Perhaps the home-field advantage will be enough to help Pelfrey solve a Washington team that has given him problems. He is 4-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 15 career starts against Washington, including a 1-1 mark and a 7.04 ERA in three starts this year.

Most recently, the Nationals roughed him up for six runs over 3 2/3 innings in Washington's 13-3 win Sept. 6 at Nationals Park.

The Mets have hit five home runs in the series. Ike Davis and Josh Thole homered in Friday's 2-1 victory, and Lucas Duda, Chris Carter and David Wright went deep in Saturday's 7-2 win.

Wright's three-run shot Saturday was his fourth in seven games and leaves him one shy of reaching the 30-homer mark for the third time in his career.

Wright will have a chance to reach that mark today against 35-year-old right-hander Livan Hernandez, who has served up four homers to Wright over the years.

Hernandez has faced the Mets more than any other team - he is 12-14 with a 4.29 ERA in 36 starts against them, including a 1-1 record and a 2.03 ERA in four starts this year.

Hernandez (10-12, 3.73 ERA) has lost three of his last four decisions, including one to the Mets on Sept. 8 in Washington. In that one, he allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 3-2 loss.

Washington outfielder Mike Morse has hit home runs in each of the first two games of the series, giving him 15 in 292 plate appearances this season.

The Nationals have only nine hits through the first two games of the series, with rookie catcher Wilson Ramos collecting three of them Saturday.

The Nationals, who are wrapping up their fifth consecutive losing season, need a win to split the season series at nine games apiece. The franchise hasn't had a winning season since the Montreal Expos went 83-79 in 2003.