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

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