• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Nats open final homestand vs. Mets

Sep 23, 2014 - 2:46 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Nationals begin their final homestand of the season and vie to keep rolling toward the playoffs, as they open a three- game series Tuesday versus the NL East-rival New York Mets.

The division-champion Nationals will close out the season with seven straight games at home, including a four-game set with the Miami Marlins this weekend.

Washington is still hunting for home-field advantage in the postseason and currently has a National League-best 91-64 mark. The Los Angeles Dodgers sit right behind with an 89-68 ledger and the St. Louis Cardinals are 88-69.

The Nationals pulled off a four-game sweep of the Marlins with Sunday's 2-1 win and have won 12 of 15 games. Stephen Strasburg appears ready for the postseason and fired seven shutout innings in the conclusion of an 11-game road trip (9-2).

"It was a good road trip for us," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "We won some close ones."

Anthony Rendon and Nate Schierholtz had an RBI apiece for the Nationals. Denard Span did not play in the win and is five hits shy of passing Cristian Guzman (183 in 2008) for the most hits in a single season in Nationals history. He is tied with Guzman for the most multi-hit games in a season (57). Guzman also achieved the feat on 2008.

The Nationals went 45-36 as the visitor this season and are 46-28 at home.

Tanner Roark gets the start for the Nats Tuesday and the right-hander has been a pleasant surprise in the rotation. Roark has set personal career highs across the board and is 14-10 with a 2.85 earned run average in 30 starts. He has won two straight starts and threw seven scoreless innings in last Tuesday's 3-0 win at Atlanta.

Roark is 6-6 in 14 starts at Nationals Park and unbeaten (4-0) in five lifetime meetings (4 starts) with the Mets. He has won all three starts against New York this season and recently defeated the NL East foes with 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a 6-2 road win on Sept. 11.

The Mets enter this series in DC fresh off a three-game sweep of the struggling Atlanta Braves and pounded their division opponents by a 10-2 score on Sunday at Turner Field.

Mets young hurler Jacob deGrom had another fine outing with 10 strikeouts over six innings, charged with two runs -- one earned -- and three hits with three walks. DeGron is 3-0 in his last five starts and has nine or more K's in each of his past three starts.

Ruben Tejada homered, Anthony Recker had three hits and three RBI, Lucas Duda went 3-for-5 and Curtis Granderson scored three times for the Mets, who posted a 14-4 hit advantage and outscored the Braves, 19-4, in the series.

"We came in here, played good baseball and got three wins," Recker said.

The Mets have won four of five games and will try to give Bartolo Colon similar run support when he makes the start Tuesday. Colon is 14-12 with a 4.02 earned run average and has alternated results over the previous nine appearances dating back to July 28 versus Philadelphia.

He was on the winning side of things in last Tuesday's 9-1 win over Miami and was touched for just a run in 7 2/3 innings, but did allow a season-high 12 hits. Colon, who was coming off a season-low, three-inning start versus Washington on Sept. 11 and gave up six runs (5 earned), is 8-4 in 15 road starts. He has struggled with the Nats, going 2-4 with a 3.07 ERA in six career starts.

Colon has won four straight starts on the road and won his only outing at Nationals Park on May 17 in a 5-2 triumph. He held the hosts to two runs and five hits in eight innings with five K's and one walk.

Washington has dominated the Mets this season to the tune of 13-3.