By: Nick Stasiak
The Nationals have waited a long while to get their first crack at the Mets this season. Last year the Nationals were heavy NL East favorites and disappointed big time. They were swept by the Mets twice late last season and missed out on the playoffs. They were excited for this series, and there were also plenty of storylines heading into it. There were two big time pitching matchups between Noah Syndergaard and Max Scherzer and also Matt Harvey against Stephen Strasburg. There was also Daniel Murphy returning to play the Mets for the first time.
After losing a 2-0 pitchers duel in game one, the Nationals responded by winning the next two games by a combined score of 14-2. After the series the Nationals sit in first place in the NL East at 25-16. The Mets are now in third place at 22-18 and 2.5 games behind the Nationals. The Nationals now play the Marlins this weekend and the Mets play the Brewers and then once again play each other in a three game series, this time in Washington. If the Nationals are able to win that series as well it would be a big message sent to the Mets.
The season still has a long way to go, but for the Nationals it was important to show the Mets that this year will be different. At least in terms of the Nationals being much more competitive then last year. Last year this was a division race that was for the most part over after the Mets swept the Nationals in a series in early September. This year it will most likely be a race that comes down to the final week in September and the Nationals want to show that they should be the team who is considered the favorites to win it, not the Mets.
