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Mets kick off Citi Field slate versus Nationals

Apr 8, 2011 - 3:07 PM (Sports Network) - Mired in their first losing streak of the young season, the New York Mets hope to get a lift from both playing at home and having their most reliable pitcher on the mound in this afternoon's clash with the Washington Nationals.

New York got its 2011 campaign off to a very encouraging start under new skipper Terry Collins, taking two of three games on the road from Florida before dealing defending NL East champion Philadelphia a 7-1 defeat Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies would win the final two tests of that series, however, while pounding New York pitching for 21 runs and 32 hits in the process.

Philadelphia racked up 16 hits en route to an 11-0 rout in Thursday's finale, with the majority of the damage coming against Mets starter Jon Niese.

Niese lasted just four innings on the afternoon, as the young lefty surrendered six runs on eight hits despite registering seven strikeouts.

"I didn't throw the ball necessarily where I wanted to, and they hit it where our guys weren't," Niese told the Mets' official site afterward.

New York, on the other hand, failed to get anything going against Phillies ace Roy Halladay and a pair of relievers. The Mets mustered only seven hits for the game, and only one went for extra bases.

Collins will be counting on a much more effective performance from his starting pitcher when the Mets kick off their third season at Citi Field with today's opener of a three-game series with the Nationals. And if R.A. Dickey pitches like he did in his 2011 debut, Collins will get his wish.

Dickey tossed six strong innings to beat the Marlins this past Sunday, with the journeyman yielding only one unearned run and five hits while striking out seven batters in New York's 9-2 triumph. That outing came on the heels of a career year for the knuckleball specialist in which he compiled an 11-9 record along with an oustanding 2.84 earned run average over 27 games (26 starts).

The 36-year-old's best work last year usually came at Citi Field, where Dickey went 7-3 and posted a stellar 1.99 ERA in 11 starts and one relief appearance.

Dickey is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA over six lifetime meetings (four starts) with Washington, with that lone win coming last September at Nationals Park via six innings of two-run ball.

Washington, which has finished in the NL East basement in each of the last three seasons, once again struggled out of the gates this year by losing four of its first five tilts. The Nats will be entering today's bout on a high note, however, after coming through with an extra-inning victory at Florida last night.

Adam LaRoche accounted for the winning margin in Washington's 5-3 decision by socking a two-run homer off Edward Mujica with two out in the top of the 11th inning, the first baseman's first long ball since signing with the Nationals as a free agent this offseason.

"I faced him a few times," LaRoche said of Mujica. "He mixes it up, great pitches. He's got a really good split, and that's what [the home run pitch] was."

LaRoche's blast made a winner out of Todd Coffey, who retired the Marlins in order in the bottom of the 10th. Sean Burnett then came on to record the final three outs for his first save of the season.

The Nationals now shoot for back-to-back wins behind Jordan Zimmermann, who pitched fairly well in a losing cause in his first start of 2011. The 24-year- old worked six innings against Atlanta on Sunday, permitting three runs -- two earned -- and just four hits while walking three batters.

A second-round draft pick of Washington in 2007, Zimmermann missed the majority of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned in late August to make seven starts. His final one came against the Mets at Citi Field, with the right-hander limiting New York to one run and three hits in a six-inning no-decision.

Zimmermann has made a total of four starts against the Mets and owns a 1-1 record with a 3.54 ERA over that span.

Washington prevailed in five of their nine encounters with New York at Citi Field a year ago, with the two NL East foes splitting 18 overall meetings in the season series.