New York Mets (9-13, 5th NLE) v. Washington Nationals (10-11, 3rd NLE)

Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

Tues Apr. 26, 7:05 pm: Chris Young (1-0, 1.46) v. Jordan Zimmermann (1-3, 3.70)

Weds Apr. 27, 7:05 pm: R.A. Dickey (1-3, 4.10) v. Tom Gorzelanny (0-2, 4.96)

Thurs Apr. 28, 7:05 pm: Chris Capuano (2-1, 5.95) v. Livan Hernandez (2-2, 3.48)

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The New York Mets come into the Nation's Capital for a three-game mid-week series against the suddenly reeling Nationals, losers of four of their last five games, including two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a swampy series over the weekend.

The Mets are one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning their last four ball games, including a home weekend sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Mets are succeeding with offense right now, particularly the long-ball.  They are fourth in the N.L. in home runs and sixth in the league in runs scored, despite a batting average that ranks just 10th in the senior circuit.

Carlos Beltran is hitting .391 over his last ten games with a homer and three RBIs, while 1B Ike Davis has three home runs and six ribbies in the same time frame.  The Mets have benefited from the return of Jason Bay from the D.L.  He's 5-for-15 since coming back with a homer and three RBIs.

Chris Young comes off the D.L. for the start tonight.  He dominated the Nats up in New York the first time he faced them, throwing seven shutout innings, before the Nats came back to win against the Mets porous bullpen.

The Nats continue to get good pitching, and their team ERA of 3.67 is good for sixth in the N.L., but with the still struggling defense (20 errors, tied for 15th in the N.L.) they still give up 4.33 runs per game total, right in the middle of the pack.

Where they continue to really have problems is at the plate though.  The Nats are hitting .223/.321/.389 as a team.

The Nats made a player move today, placing SS Ian Desmond on the Paternity Leave list, recalling OF Roger Bernadina from Triple A Syracuse.  Bernadina was hitting .267 with three doubles, one home run and two RBIs in 13 games for the Chiefs.  He has stolen five bases, tying him for ninth in the International League.

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STARTING LINEUPS

METS: Reyes – SS; Murphy – 2B;, Wright – 3B; Beltran – RF; Bay – LF; Davis – 1B; Thole – C; Pridie – CF; Young – P

NATIONALS: Espinosa – 2B; Ankiel – CF; Werth – RF; LaRoche – 1B; Ramos – C; Morse – LF; Hairston – 3B; Cora – SS; Zimmermann – P

Washington Nationals (9-9, 3rd NLE) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (8-11, 5th NLC)

PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Fri. Apr. 22, 7:05 pm: Livan Hernandez (2-1, 2.88) v. Jeff Karstens (1-0, 4.50)

Sat. Apr. 23, 7:05 pm: Jason Marquis (1-0, 2.57) v. Kevin Correia (3-1, 2.00)

Sun. Apr. 24, 1:35 pm: John Lannan (2-1, 3.60) v. Paul Maholm (0-3, 14.73)

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The Nationals travel to Pittsburgh licking their wounds after losing two of three to St. Louis this week, hoping to get back on track and looking for their lost offense after getting shut down and shut out by the Cardinals this week.  The Nats managed just seven hits in the two losses to the Cards, and their team slash line is dreadful at .218/.305/.333.

It's not just a couple of spots in the order that's hurting the Nats right now, it's almost everyone.  Adam LaRoche is hitting .211.  Michael Morse is at .196.  Rick Ankiel a robust .221.  But no where are the struggles more evident than in the three-hole, and $126 million dollar man Jayson Werth. 

The slugger, brought in to fill this lineup out, is hitting .209/.293/.358 with two home runs and four RBIs in 75 plate appearances.  He's struck out 16 times, and what's worse, he's hitting ground balls outs at double his historical pace.

The Pirates enter play as the usually do, looking up at the rest of the Central Division.  They've won just three of their last ten games, and were shut out twice by Florida earlier this week.  They aren't hitting much more than the Nats, going .233/.313/.350 as a team.  While the Nats are getting some decent starting pitching , the Pirates are fourth worst in the N.L., giving up 4.89 runs per game.

Pittsburgh has some very good young talented players, such as CF Andrew McCutchen, 3B Pedro Alvarez, LF Jose Tabata and 2B Neil Walker, but all have struggled so far this season at the plate.

The Nats are expexcted to add INF Brian Bixler to the roster before tonight's game unless it's called by rain, and he's with the team in Pittsburgh.  He'll needed to be added to the 40-man roster, so the team will have to remove someone to activate Bixler. Bixler is insurance for when Ian Desmond leaves the team to be with his wife Chelsey, due any day with the couple's first child.

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STARTING LINEUPS

NATIONALS: Espinosa-4, Ankiel-8, Werth-9, LaRoche-3, Ramos-2, Morse-7, Desmond-6, Hairston-5, Hernandez-1

PIRATES:  McCutchen -8, Tabata-7, Overbay-3, Walker-4, Jones-9, Doumit-2, Alvarez-5, Cedeno-6, Karstens-1

Washington Nationals (8-7, 3rd NLE) at St. Louis Cardinals (8-8, 2nd NLC)

Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Tues Apr. 19, 8:15 pm: John Lannan (1-1, 3.38) v. Jake Westbrook (1-1, 7.63)

Weds Apr. 20, 8:15 pm:  Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 2.45) v. Jaime Garcia (2-0, 1.35)

Thurs Apr. 21, 1:45 pm:  Tom Gorzelanny (0-1, 5.59) v. Kyle Lohse (2-1, 2.81)

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I'll be on "Nats News Weekly", live internet radio on PrimeSportsNetwork.com today at 5:30 pm.  We'll talk about the week that was last week, including the three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.  We'll also talk about the hitting (or lack thereof), the starting pitching excelling so far, and the how the bullpen is rounding into shape.

We'll also have updates on some of the minor league players in the system.

You can join in the discussion or as ask a question LIVE at 877-244-0585.

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STARTING LINEUPS

NATIONALS: Espinosa - 2B, Ankiel - CF, Werth - RF, LaRoche - 1B, Ramos - C, Morse - LF, Desmond - SS, Hairston - 3B, Lannan - P

CARDINALS: Theriot - SS, Rasmus - CF, Pujols - 1B, Holliday - LF, Berkman - RF, Freese - 3B, Molina - C, Greene - 2B, Westbrook - P

Milwaukee Brewers (7-5, 2nd NLC) v. Washington Nationals (5-7, 3rd NLE)

Nationals Park, Washington D.C.

Friday, Apr. 15 7:05 pm: Chris Narveson (1-0, 0.00) v. Tom Gorzelanny (0-1, 8.44)

Saturday, Apr. 16, 1:05 pm: Yovanni Gallardo (1-0, 2.70) v. Jason Marquis (0-0, 3.65)

Sunday, Apr. 17, 1:35 pm: Marco Estrada (1-0, 5.14) v. Livan Hernandez (1-1, 3.50)

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After dropping two of three to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals welcome another playoff contender to Nats Park, the Milwaukee Brewers, winners of their last four games.  The Brew Crew bring an impressive pitching staff and that's not even counting off-season addition Zack Greinke, injured during spring training playing pick-up basketball.

Friday's starter, lefty Chris Narveson, hasn't given up an earned run in either of his two starts this season.  Saturday the Nats will face one of the best young pitchers in the N.L., Yovanni Gallardo (2.70ERA in 3 starts), and Sunday features former Nats reliever Marco Estrada filling in for Greinke.

The Brewers are led at the plate once again by 1B Prince Fielder (.372, 3 HR, 15 RBI) and LF Ryan Braun (.325, 4 HR, 8 RBI).  But they are also getting surprising support from OF Nyjer Morgan, traded over at the end of spring training from the Nats for minor league infielder Cutter Dykstra.

In five games and 21 at bats, Morgan is hitting .476 with two doubles and two triples, providing a spark from the bottom of the order, where he's been predominantly used by Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke.

The reception for Morgan at Nats Park this weekend should be as interesting, considering some of the comments he's made about his former teammates and manager since the deal.

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STARTING LINEUPS

BREWERS:  Weeks-4, Gomez-8, Braun-7, Fielder-3, McGehee-5, Betancourt-6, Almonte-9, Nieves-2, Narveson-1.

NATIONALS: Espinosa-4, Ankiel-8, Werth-9, LaRoche-3, Ramos-2, Morse-7, Desmond-6, Hairston-5, Gorzelanny-1

Washington Nationals (2-4, 5th NLE) v. New York Mets (3-3, 2nd NLE)
Citi Field, Flushing, NY

Fri. Apr. 8, 4:10 pm: Jordan Zimmermann (0-1, 3.00) v. R.A. Dickey (1-0, 0.00)

Sat. Apr. 9, 7:10 pm:  Tom Gorzelanny (first start) v. Chris Capuano (0-0, 13.50)

Sun. Apr. 10, 1:10 pm:  Jason Marquis (0-0, 2.84) v. Chris Young (0-0, 1.69)

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Fresh off their second win of the season, a 5-3 extra inning affair against the Florida Marlins, the Washington Nationals head to New York to take on the Mets in their home opener Friday afternoon.   The Mets have had a funny start to the 2011 season, with four of their six games blowouts in one direction or the other, including back-to-back losses to the Philadelphia Phillies in their most recent two games by the scores of 10-7 and 11-0.

Last season, the Nats and Mets spilt their season series with 9 wins apiece, and the Nats took five of nine at Citi Field.

New York is led as usual by 3B David Wright, and the perennial all-star is hitting .346 (9-for-26) with a homer and five RBIs so far this season.  Second year 1B Ike Davis (.348) and SS Jose Reyes (.310) are also both off to good starts.  Former Nationals utility Willie Harris is getting a lot of playing time early as well and is hitting .353 (6-for-17 with a homer) in the first week of play.

The Nats will face knuckleballer R.A. Dickey Friday afternoon.  The right-hander was 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in three starts versus Washington in 2010.

For the Nats, they hope home runs by Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche Thursday are a good sign the team is ready to break out of their early-season slump.  However, Werth is 2-for-14 the last four games and batting .243 with 23 strikeouts in 18 games at Citi Field.

As a team through the first six games, the Nats are hitting .210/.299/.318, last in the N.L., and their 3.17 runs per game is 13th in the circuit.  And for all the of-season preaching about improving the defense, Washington enters play Friday last in the N.L. with eight errors in six games.

TEAM STATS (courtesy baseball-reference.com)

WAS:  3.17 RPG (13th), 4.83 RAG (13th), DefEff: .696 (8th), 8 errors (16th)

NYM:  5.17 RPG (4th), 5.67 RAG (15th), DefEff: .608 (16th), 5 errors (T-8th)

Atlanta Braves (0-0) v. Washington Nationals (0-0)

Thursday 1:05 pm, Saturday 1:05 pm, Sunday 1:35 pm

Nationals Park, Washington D.C.

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The weather might be more suited for football playoffs than baseball's Opening Day, but they're going to do everything they can to get this one in today.  Game time temperature should be around 45 degrees with a mist or drizzle, and conditions will probably deteriorate during the day.  But it's baseball games that count!

Today is the first game in about 100 years that Bobby Cox won't be managing the Atlanta Braves.  Fredi Gonzalez takes over for the legend.  Nationals manager Jim Riggleman starts his second full season as skipper of the the home team.

The Braves and Nats find themselves on opposite ends of the N.L. East, as Atlanta should contend with the Phillies in the East and be in the wild card discussion regardless, while the Nats hope to avoid their sixth straight last place finish in the division.

Enjoy Opening Day everyone!  And stay warm and dry!

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Braves

Martin Prado-7

Nate McLouth-8

Chipper Jones-5

Brian McCann-3

Dan Uggla-4

Jason Heyward-9

Alex Gonzalez-6

Freddie Freeman-3

Derek Lowe-1

Nationals

Ian Desmond-6

Jayson Werth-9

Ryan Zimmerman-5

Adam LaRoche-3

Michael Morse-7

Rick Ankiel-8

Danny Espinosa-4

Ivan Rodriguez-2

Livan Hernandez-1

San Francisco Giants (45-40, 4th in NL West, 4 1/2 games back, W-4)

v.

Washington Nationals (38-48, 5th in NL east, 12 1/2 games back, L-1)

July 9-11, 2010 -- Nationals Park

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The Giants enter this series on a roll, sweeping a four-game set from the Milwaukee Brewers.  The bats really came alive for San Fran, hitting .325 with eight home runs and 36 runs total in the four games.  They has 16 hits with three homers in Thursday night's 9-3 victory.

The Giants are an interesting team with a nice mix of veterans and youngsters, and their most recently promoted rookie hitter, Buster Posey, is on fire right now.  The C-1B has hit four home runs this week and is one of the brightest future stars in the game.

Of course, you can't talk about the Giants without mentioning their pitching staff, although the Nats will miss San Fran's pair of Cy Young award winners, Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito.  But they will see impressive rookie Madison Bumgarner, who has an ERA under 3.00 in his first three big league starts.

San Francisco took two of three from the Nats when Washington visited the west coast earlier this season.

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Season Stats

Pitching  (Runs Per Game Against, Team ERA, Team Fielding %) Rank in N.L.
SF:  3.71 (2nd), 3.46 (3rd), .988 (3rd)
WAS:  4.66 (12th), 4.21 (11th), .977 (15th)

Hitting (Runs Per Game For, HRs, SB) Rank in N.L.
SF:  4.40 (11th), 79 (8th), 34 (15th)
WAS:  4.08 (13th), 76 10th), 59 (3rd)

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Who's Hot? (last ten games)

SF:  Posey (12-for-24, 4 HRs, 9 RBIs), Huff (10-for-25, 5 HRs, 12 RBIs), Sanchez (1-0, 1.50, 6 Ks in 6 IP)

WAS:  Zimmerman (10-for-23, 3 HRs, 7 RBIs), Dunn (8-for-24, 3 HRs, 8 RBIs), Peralta (0-0, 1.59, 5 Ks in 5.2 IP)

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Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday, 7:05 pm:  RHP Stephen Strasburg (2-2, 2.45) v. RHP Matt Cain (6-7, 2.98)

Saturday, 7:05 pm:  RHP Craig Stammen (2-3, 5.72) v. LHP Jonathan Sanchez (7-6, 3.15)

Sunday, 1:35 pm:  RHP Livan Hernandez (6-4, 3.11) v. RHP Madison Bumgarner (1-2, 2.86)

San Diego Padres (49-33, 1st in NL West)

v.

Washington Nationals (36-47, 5th in NL East)

July 6-8, 2010, Nationals Park

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The Padres bring the Majors' best pitching staff to town for a three-game set.  San Diego's team ERA is 3.07, and the majority of their bullpen own ERAs lower than 2.55.  That said, the owners of the National League's best record is challenged offensively, though it doesn't seem to matter most nights. 

The Padres have failed to score more than three runs in nine of their last 13 games but have only lost four.  On the other hand, Washington has not scored more than three in 12 of 18 but has gone 5-13.

San Diego is coming off three consecutive final at-bat wins and are starting a six-game road trip. 

In the last 57 games for the Nationals, 37 have been decided by two or fewer runs.  Their overall record in those games is 16-21, and 10-14 in one run games over that period.

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Season Stats (Runs Per Game, Team ERA, Team Fielding Percentage) Rank in N.L.

SD:  4.13 RPG (12th), 3.07 ERA (1st), .990 (1st)

WAS:  4.06 RPG (13th), 4.16 (11th), .977 (15th)

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Who's Hot? (last 10 games)

SD:  RF Aaron Cunningham (5-for-10, 4 runs), SS David Eckstein (5-for-14, 2 RBIs), 3B Chase Headly (8-for-23).  RP Heath Bell (4 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 saves, 6 Ks), SP Mat Latos (8 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 Ks), SP Clayton Richard (7 IP, 1-0, 2.57 ERA, 10 Ks)

WAS:  SS Alberto Gonzalez (6-for-12), LF Josh Willingham (8-for-23, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs), CF Nyjer Morgan (8-for-25, 3 runs).  SP Livan Hernandez (7 IP, 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 7 Ks), Joel Peralta (5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 Ks), RP Drew Storen (3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 Ks).

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Pitching Matchups

Tuesday, 7:05 pm:  RHP Livan Hernandez (6-4, 2.98) v. LHP Clayton Richard (6-4, 2.74)
Wednesday, 7:05 pm:  RHP J.D. Martin (0-4, 3.38) v. RHP Jon Garland (8-5, 3.24)
Thursday, 7:05 pm:  RHP Luis Atilano (6-5, 4.72) v. RHP Mat Latos (9-4, 2.62)