Series Thread: NY Mets @ Wash. Nationals (9/7-9)

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

NEW YORK METS (75-61, first place/NL East) at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (71-65, second place/NL East)

Monday: LHP Jonathon Niese (8-10, 4.17) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (11-11, 2.89), 1:05 p.m. ET

Tuesday: RHP Matt Harvey (12-7, 2.60) vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.38), 7:05 p.m. ET

Wednesday: RHP Jacob deGrom (12-7, 2.40) vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg (8-6, 4.35), 7:05 p.m. ET


• Series preview: New York Mets at Washington Nationals - Mets Blog - ESPN

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Matt Harvey of New York Mets says he will pitch in playoffs


NEW YORK -- General manager Sandy Alderson plans to meet with Matt Harvey on Monday regarding the innings-cap hullabaloo, then address the media. Harvey at least has pledged to pitch in the postseason with a modified plan for the remainder of regular season, but as the New York Mets open a critical three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Labor Day, the attention will not be fully devoted to the National League East showdown.

Still, after the Mets lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Miami Marlins on Sunday, captain David Wright insisted there are no distractions seeping into the clubhouse.

“Nobody in here is distracted,” Wright said. “Not a person is distracted. Matt’s ready to go. Matt’s ready.”

Harvey will handle the second game of the series, on Tuesday opposite Jordan Zimmermann.

The Mets have lost 2.5 games off their lead in the past four days and now are up four games on Washington.

Still, Wright was not making any back-page declarations about the importance of the upcoming series.

Wright, who had Sunday's game off, as well as Daniel Murphy (strained quadriceps) are due to return to the lineup.

“From a player’s perspective, it’s another game. It’s another day of preparation,” Wright said. “It’s another day of getting into your routine and doing what got you to this point. I’m sure the fans, the adrenaline, the energy is going to rub off on the players, just like those fun series do. But, again, from a player’s perspective you have to keep things in perspective and try to stay as even keel as possible.”

Wright added: “From here on out, every game is going to be big. This was a big game. Yesterday was a big game. Although it’s an important series, you can’t prepare or do anything differently going into it, because once you start getting too pumped up or too excited for a series, sometimes it gets you off your game.”

The Mets will face Max Scherzer, Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg. The Mets are countering with Jonathon Niese, Harvey and Jacob deGrom.

“They’re three of the best pitchers in baseball,” Wright said about the Nats’ trio. “I think that anytime you look at a Scherzer, Zimmermann, Strasburg, it’s three elite pitchers -- not just in the National League, but in baseball. We know runs are going to be at a premium, so being a good situational-hitting team, trying to limit the amount of miscues offensively and defensively, are going to be important. But we’re throwing out three pretty good arms, too.”

 

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Lucas Duda went 1-for-3 with a walk and RBI and played a full game at first base on Sunday in his second rehab game with Double-A Binghamton. Duda, who went on the 15 day DL on Aug.22 with a back sprain and slight herniated disk in his back, is now due to rejoin the New York Mets, B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Duda said he feels good, and is looking forward to rejoining the big club in Washington.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

FFS....Niese is worthless.....I don't even know why they marched him out there today....he should have pitched yesterday in Miami instead....and Matz should've been on the mound today in DC.

This is his 3rd straight outing that he's allowed at least 5 runs in an inning.

Fucking Pathetic!!

a 3-0 Mets lead is turned into a 5-3 deficit....and it's just the bottom of the 4th.

Our division lead will likely be gone by this coming weekend.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Tejada & Grandy w/ b2b 1 out doubles.....5-4 , nats ...top 5th.

 

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Mets tie it up...5-5 in the 6th..
Cespedes leadoff double...gets moved to 3rd on a Scherzer balk....and scores on a sac fly rbi by Td'A.

Our BP is gonna be shot by the end of this series....
Niese couldn't get out of the 4th only went 3.1...Torres was pitching good, but injured his leg in the 5th covering 1st on a ground out...he wen1 1.1
Goeddel came in to get the final out of the 5th and is now pitching in the 6th...

Goeddel is now pulled w/ 2 outs and bases empty for Alvarez to face Harper.


Alvarez falls behind 3-0 to harper then comes back to get the strikeout on the next 3 pitches....

Onto the 7th.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Wow....Mets had 1st & 2nd w/ 1out and they regain the lead 6-5...on DW's 1 out rbi single...

Williams going thru his BP about as fast as TC is his....lol

1st and 3rd...1 out for the Murph....

Yes....Murphy fought off a tough 3-2 pitch and gets a sac fly ribeye...7-5 Mets.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

YES!!!
Cespedes smokes an rbi double to deep RF.....scoring the captain all the way from 1st.

8-5 Amazin's

Stretch time in DC

LGM!!!

We're gonna need some shut down frames here by Robles and committee... and Clippard probably won't be available til tomorrow....

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

NICE!!!!

Robles w/ a "quick" .. 1-2-3 7th inning....(inc. 2 K's)


Onto the 8th...

LGM!!!

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Hansel back in there for the 8th....(hope he doesn't get lost)

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Ay Dios Mio!!!

Mucho Gusto, Robles!!!

Another fast & clean 1-2-3 frame in the 8th....(w/ 2 more K's)


Heading to the 9th....Mets up 8-5.

 

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Familia takes the mound for the bottom 9th to face the top of the order....he hasn't pitched in 1 week....hopefully he's well rested and not rusty...

 

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YES!!!!

Put it in the Books!!!!

Familia allows a lead off single to Werth...then mows down Rendon, Harper & Zimmerman..on Strikeouts.

Mets w/ a sweet, gutsy 8-5 road win to go back up 5 games in the division....


Jon Niese needs to buy dinner for his teammates tonight...seriously!!

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Mets outlast Nationals in impressive fashion to open the series.


WASHINGTON--(9/7) -- Well, maybe the New York Mets won't need much of Matt Harvey down the stretch.

David Wright delivered a clutch RBI single in the seventh and Yoenis Cespedes produced three extra-base hits as the Mets beat the Washington Nationals, 8-5, in Monday's series opener at Nationals Park.

The Mets (76-61) opened a five-game lead over the Nationals (71-66) for first place in the National League East.

The Mets' magic number dipped to 21.

Wright broke a 5-all tie with a run-scoring single against Casey Janssen in the seventh. Daniel Murphy followed with a sacrifice fly and Cespedes had an RBI double later in the frame against Matt Thornton.

Cespedes doubled twice and homered in the victory.

The relief trio of Erik Goeddel, Dario Alvarez and Hansel Robles combined to retire all 10 batters they faced leading into Jeurys Familia for the ninth. Familia converted his 37th save in his first appearance in a week.

Not Niese: In a start manager Terry Collins labeled the biggest of Jonathon Niese's career, the southpaw flopped. Niese surrendered a grand slam to Wilson Ramos and an RBI double to Jayson Werth and was knocked out with one out in the fourth with the Mets trailing, 5-3. Niese also had surrendered five-run frames in each of his previous two starts, both in third innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. He has a 10.53 ERA over his past four starts.

Michael Conforto, Kelly Johnson and Cespedes had produced solo homers against Max Scherzer as the Mets built a 3-0 lead.

Niese barked at plate umpire Paul Nauert about the strike zone after getting removed from the game.

Ouch: Carlos Torres, who entered once Niese was knocked out, pulled up lame after scooping up a grounder near the first-base line in the fifth and was forced to depart. Torres was diagnosed with a strained left calf. That's when Goeddel took over and the young bullpen arms dominated.

Welcome back: Alvarez fell behind in the count with three straight balls, but rallied to strike out Bryce Harper for the final out of the sixth. The faceoff marked the only six pitches Alvarez has thrown in the majors this season.

What's next: Harvey gets to further chip away at his innings allotment when he takes center stage at Nationals Park on Tuesday. Harvey (12-7, 2.60 ERA), who may not pitch for a while afterward to conserve innings, opposes right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.38) on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.



• Today's Box score .....New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals - Box Score - September 07, 2015 - ESPN

 

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Cespedes powers Mets past Nationals to open key NL East set....Mets BP comes up big.

WASHINGTON -- Yoenis Cespedes homered and doubled twice, David Wright hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and the New York Mets ended Washington's five-game winning streak, beating the Nationals 8-5 Monday to open a key NL East series.

Michael Conforto and Kelly Johnson also homered for New York, which increased its division lead to five games over the Nats with 25 remaining. The teams play twice more in this set....and 3 more in Queens in the final series to finish the regular season.

Dario Alvarez (1-0), pitching in the majors for the first time this season, faced only one batter -- Bryce Harper -- and struck him out to get his first major league win.

Five Mets relievers combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings, with Jeurys Familia closing for his 37th save.

Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam for Washington, the second of his career.

Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed five runs over six innings on seven hits -three homers and four doubles. He's been tagged for 11 home runs in his last six starts, and exited with a season-high 3.03 ERA.

Cespedes hit his 31st home run this season, and 13th in 34 games since being traded from Detroit to the Mets, to help building an early lead.

Jonathon Niese gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings, lifting his ERA to 10.50 over his last four starts for the Mets.

It was 5-all when Blake Treinen (2-3) took over for Scherzer to begin the seventh. The Mets wound up scoring three times against four Washington relievers.

Wilmer Flores led off with a single, Curtis Granderson drew a walk from Felipe Rivero and Wright hit an RBI single. Daniel Murphy had a sacrifice fly and Wright raced home from first on Cespedes' double to right-center, sliding in just ahead of Anthony Rendon's relay throw.

Granderson doubled twice.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mets: Activated 1B Lucas Duda (back stiffness) from the disabled list before the game. He wasn't scheduled to arrive at Nationals Park in time to start. ... Manager Terry Collins said he doesn't expect a prolonged absence for LHP Steven Matz, who left with a blister in the sixth inning of Sunday's start against Miami. ... RHP Carlos Torres left in the fifth inning with a strained left calf.

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (back tightness) felt good after Sunday's bullpen session and will start Wednesday "barring a setback," manager Matt Williams said.

UP NEXT

Mets: RHP Matt Harvey (12-7, 2.60) will make what could be one of his final starts of the regular season. In his first season after Tommy John surgery, Harvey has pitched 166 1/3 innings and could be shut down until the postseason at around 180, GM Sandy Alderson said Monday.

Nationals: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 3.38) has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 23 career starts against the Mets, including five scoreless outings.

 

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WASHINGTON -- Since the New York Mets came within a game of reaching the World Series in 2006, David Wright has lived through two collapses followed by six straight losing seasons. On Labor Day, Wright seemed to release some of that pent-up frustration.

As Wright crossed the plate on a double by Yoenis Cespedes to cap the scoring in a three-run seventh inning, the captain wildly pumped a fist as if he were spiking a football. Minutes earlier, Wright had produced a tiebreaking RBI single in what became an 8-5 win against the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon.

The victory allowed the Mets to open a five-game division lead over the Nationals.

"You go through it in 2006 and 2007 and 2008, and you kind of believe that's going to be the standard," Wright said. "I don't think you truly appreciate it until you go through some of the years we've been through and understand how much more fun it is coming to the ballpark when you're playing these types of games as opposed to kind of just playing out the schedule. I think that's something maybe I took for granted those years that I don't take for granted anymore. I'm going to enjoy this."


David Wright celebrates after scoring in the seventh inning to put the Mets up 8-5.

After losing two of three games in Miami over the weekend, the Mets had arrived in Washington with their division lead whittled down by 2 1/2 games in a matter of four days to four games. The Amazin's answered with clarity in the division showdown against the Nationals even after a five-run fourth inning by Washington knocked out starter Jonathon Niese and put the Mets in a 5-3 hole.

"I've been talking about how resilient this team is," Wright said. "So it's nice to answer after a tough loss yesterday. From here on out, I think every game is going to be the biggest game of the year. So it's nice to win. We need to move on and look forward to tomorrow. We've got a pretty good shot to win this one [Tuesday] with an angry Matt Harvey on the hill."

Wright's on-field emotional display aside, he somewhat downplayed the magnitude of Monday's win. His manager, Terry Collins, was not as shy in portraying the importance.

"They don't panic," Collins said about his team. "They came out today in the biggest game, I think, of our entire season thus far, fell behind and then came back and held on. It was a great win."

Said Wright: "Throughout the last couple of years, that emotion hasn't quite been there. And then, on top of that, I miss four months. You're just thinking about what it's like when you get back and how much fun it's going to be. You miss that emotion and that passion. You make it back and you get a chance to play in a game like this, that's a lot of fun. That's what continues to drive me and pumps me up."

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

• Mets pitcher Carlos Torres downplays calf strain after big win - Mets Blog - ESPN



LOL @ Nats "fans".....

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper called out fans Monday for a perceived lack of passion after the Washington Nationals' series-opening 8-5 loss to the division-leading New York Mets.

When asked after the game what the atmosphere felt like at Nationals Park, Harper said, "They left in the seventh, so you know, that's pretty brutal."

After six innings, the score was tied 5-5, but the Mets scored three times in the seventh to break the game open.

The announced paid attendance for the Labor Day game was 34,210. That's slightly above average for a Washington team that entered the day ranked 10th in home attendance at 33,109.

Based on fan reaction during the game, the crowd appeared to be a mixture of people rooting for both the Nationals and the Mets, who rank sixth in road attendance at 32,143.

Harper's comments come on the heels of similar comments made by closer Jonathan Papelbon following the team's extra-innings win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

"I got a little bone to pick with fans," said Papelbon, who pitched two innings and was credited with the win on Friday. "I saw a few of 'em sitting down. We need to stand up in those situations. 'Cuz this is playoff baseball."

The announced paid attendance on Friday was 23,536, the Nationals' second-smallest crowd of the season.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

LET'S GO METS!!!!!

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Excellent article on the Matt Harvey hubbub....

Justice: Matt Harvey must win for Mets

 

[David_son]

Now I'm not fully up on the Cespedes contract I know we can resign him once FA hits but we can work out a contract extention before the end of the WS right so if he really wants to stay here and we are willing to give him around the money he wants he can resign before the WS is over.