Series Preview: First-Place Mets Face Nationals in D.C.

The New York Mets (18-7) could not have drawn up a much better start to the season. Carlos Mendoza’s team is heading back on the road after a 7-0 homestand, sweeping series over the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. Francisco Lindor delivered during that stretch by collecting 14 hits and four home runs, one of which was a walk-off.

Next up for the Mets is the Washington Nationals (11-14), a young team led by budding star James Wood. Let’s take a look at the four pitching matchups for this series.

Pitching Matchups

• Friday: Kodai Senga (3-1, 0.79 ERA) vs. Jake Irvin (2-0, 3.68 ERA): Senga is currently in the midst of a 17 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak. His four-seam fastball/forkball combination is causing problems for opposing hitters, with the latter in particular being superb. Senga has 14 strikeouts with his signature pitch, with all three hits against it being singles. He will make his third career start against the Nationals. He’s gone 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in the first two. Irvin is in his second full season in the Nationals’ rotation after making a career-high 33 starts in 2024. The right-hander has a four-pitch mix, primarily using a curveball and four-seam fastball. Irvin has struggled early on with the long ball, giving up six home runs over his first five outings.
• Saturday: Clay Holmes (2-1, 3.16 ERA) vs. Brad Lord (0-2, 4.73 ERA): Holmes has started to settle in nicely in his new role after dealing with some bumps and bruises over his first few starts. The former reliever threw a season-high six innings last time out against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 20. He managed to keep their lineup off-balance, striking out hitters with five different pitches. Holmes will make just his fifth career appearance against the Nationals. The Mets will get their first look at Lord on Saturday. His pitch mix includes heavy usage of his four-seam fastball, throwing it over 58 percent of the time through six appearances. Lord also has a sinker, slider and a changeup in his arsenal. He has yet to throw more than 4 1/3 innings in a start this season.
• Sunday: Tylor Megill (3-2, 1.09 ERA) vs. Mitchell Parker (3-1, 1.39 ERA): Megill is continuing to thrive less than a month into the season. He has made five starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each of them. On Monday, he had a season-high 10 strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies. The one thing escaping him is consistent length, which is the next step for him. It’s not a huge sample size, but Parker has shown signs of taking a significant leap forward in his second full season. He has five quality starts, tied for the most in baseball with the Houston Astros’ Hunter Brown. Parker is 0-1 with a 9.31 ERA in two career starts against the Mets.
• Monday: Griffin Canning (3-1, 3.12 ERA) vs. Trevor Williams (1-2, 5.11 ERA): Canning continues to surprise just about everyone in a Mets uniform. After a rough tenure with the Los Angeles Angels, the right-hander has looked like a totally different starter with his new team. Canning has won his last two starts, pitching to a 1.64 ERA during that period. The team is also 4-1 with him on the mound. Williams, a former Met, is the veteran in the Nationals rotation. His overall numbers do not look good, but that is largely due to one bad start against the Miami Marlins on April 12. Williams has allowed one run in each of his last two starts, throwing 10 total innings over the stretch.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil are back and off the injured list, set to make their season debuts this weekend in D.C. Their returns come at a good time, adding quality depth to a team that is rolling. Alvarez and McNeil will look to make an immediate impact.

Luis Torrens has earned additional playing time with his offense and defense at the catcher position. The same can be said about Luisangel Acuña, providing the Mets with speed and strong defense at second base. If Alvarez and McNeil want to regain their everyday roles or something close to that as those positions, getting into a rhythm over the next few weeks will certainly help.

PREDICTION 

The Nationals are 7-5 at home. That includes series victories over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers. I expect them to prove to be a difficult opponent this weekend. That being said, the Mets are red-hot and are getting key reinforcements to begin this series.

Alvarez and McNeil have a few quality at-bats as Juan Soto returns to D.C. with his new team, leading them to another series victory. The Mets take three of four, extending their lead at the top of the NL East.

The post Series Preview: First-Place Mets Face Nationals in D.C. appeared first on Metsmerized Online.