The Mets head down to the District for a chance to cut into Washington's division lead.

What's going on with the Nationals?

With a 60-50 record and the best run differential in the National League, Washington could be considered the favorite to win the NL pennant. If the Braves continue to slump and the NL Central competitors continue to beat up on each other, the Nationals could find themselves pulling ahead of the pack sooner rather than later. To do that, though, they have to take care of business against our Mets. Easier said than done, right?

We can only hope. After a 7-3 loss to Baltimore in a make-up game on Monday, Washington is looking forward to getting on track against the Mets at home, and the Nats have a shiny new piece to help them get the job done. At the trade deadline, general manager Mike Rizzo sent second base prospect Zach Walters to Cleveland in exchange for the more experienced Asdrubal Cabrera. The veteran shortstop isn't hitting as well in the past, but his defensive skills are already starting to pay dividends for Washington.

With Cabrera now manning second base, it frees up the Nationals to play Anthony Rendon everyday at third alongside the strong defensive outfield trio of Jayson Werth, Denard Span, and Bryce Harper. It's going to be harder and harder to notice that Ryan Zimmerman is on the disabled list again.

Who are these guys?

Cabrera looked like a future stud when he hit 25 home runs as a 25-year-old for the Indians in 2011. Since then, however, his offense has tailed off. Cabrera has seen his slugging percentage drop in each of the last three seasons, and his on-base percentage was never fantastic to begin with. For the past two years, he's been a player who hasn't hit well enough to explain away a consistently negative FanGraphs defense rating. The move to second base should turn Cabrera into a plus defender, but it's worth wondering whether or not the Nationals really upgraded their offense when they dealt away Walters, who was raking in the International League.

Speaking of raking in the IL, that's exactly what outfield prospect Steven Souza was doing before Washington called him up. Injury issues as well as a 50-game PED suspension have slowed the 25-year-old's ascent through the minor leagues, but now that he has arrived, he has the chance to make a big impact. Or at least he would have if the Nationals didn't already have a packed outfield. As things stand, Souza has the ability to provide both power and speed off the bench. In future years, he could be a 20/20 player as a major league regular.

Who's on the mound?

Tuesday: Zack Wheeler vs. Gio Gonzalez

Gonzalez has struggled this season with a surprising amount of outings that have gone for less than five innings. That has been the case in two of the lefty's last three starts, just like it was the last time he faced the Mets. New York scored five runs on Gonzalez in just three innings back on May 17, and they'll try to replicate the effort tonight. Of course, the real story will be whether or not Terry Collins decides to start Lucas Duda.

With Jon Niese going through some recent struggles, Wheeler is the new Mr. Consistency in the Mets' rotation. Lately it's been impossible for the big right-hander to allow more than two runs or more than two walks in a start, and New York will need another quality start if Gonzalez is on his game. The ability for Wheeler to string together as many solid starts as he has is a great sign for his future as well as the team's. Something else that is consistent: Wheeler hasn't finished the seventh inning since his shutout of the Marlins in mid-June.

Wednesday: Jon Niese vs. Doug Fister

After starting the season on the disabled list, Fister has recovered and become just the solid, back-of-the-rotation presence that the Nationals thought he would be when they traded for him over the winter. Fister's ground ball rate is down below 50 percent this year, but he's making up for it by refusing to walk opponents (only 1.20 free passes per nine innings). The Mets will be getting their first look at Fister this week, and the SNY guys will be happy to know that he's a guy who it pays to be aggressive against.

Now that Niese isn't throwing up quality starts every time he takes the hill, he's become much more of a pedestrian pitcher. His last start was a strange one in which he pitched through eight innings despite falling behind early in the game. Niese admirably tried to pound the strike zone (and ended up finishing without a walk), but such a strategy isn't a good one against the free-swinging Giants.

Thursday: Jacob deGrom vs. Jordan Zimmermann

A Mets vs. Nationals game usually doesn't have the sex appeal to excite a national offense, but this pitching matchup might just have the juice to do that. Zimmermann has become Washington's ace with Stephen Strasburg have a poor (for him) season, and his skills are as good as they've ever been. Like Fister, Zimmermann attacks the strike zone, but he also has the stuff to strike out opponents once he gets ahead. If Fister is like Bartolo Colon with less fly balls, Zimmermann is a right-handed Cliff Lee.

Of course, when it comes to creating a sexy pitching matchup, it takes two to tango. deGrom is up for the task with a string of five starts that has made Mets fans' hearts melt. The combination of flowing locks and efficient pitching is something that New York doesn't have elsewhere on its staff, and deGrom's outings are now must-see events for fans of the orange and blue. The kid is doing well to follow in the footsteps of R.A. Dickey and Matt Harvey as Mets pitchers who have made otherwise rudderless seasons much more palatable.

Prediction: Mets drop two of three to a Nationals team that doesn't have any glaring weaknesses.

What about some highlights?

Citi Field wasn't the only major league park affected by a Sharknado this year...

Remember when Teddy used to never win the Presidents Race? Well, nowadays he's pretty much unstoppable (unless there's a Sharknado in effect).

This catch by Span last night created a monster-sized divot in the outfield.

Make sure you check out FanDuel today for exciting one-day fantasy leagues!

Jacob deGrom and Jake Peavy each took no-hit bids into the seventh inning Saturday, with Peavy retiring the first nineteen Met batters, but they each pitched very differently.

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One has long, flowing locks; the other, a short cut. One is a 26-year-old rookie; the other, a 33-year old veteran of thirteen campaigns. One is on a team trying to avoid the cellar; the other, a wild-card team in the hunt for a division title. But on Saturday night, these pitchers – one preferring his full name; the other, a nickname – matched each other for seven glorious innings. Jacob deGrom and Jake Peavy aren't the best pitchers in their league, but you sure wouldn't have known it.

deGrom

Since June 16th, when he imploded for six runs on twelve hits, deGrom has gone at least six innings and given up two or fewer runs in all but one of his eight starts. During that 6-1 stretch, he's been good for a 1.52 ERA and 1.88 FIP, with a 4:1 K:BB ratio. Only a fifth-inning walk to Brandon Belt marred his evening until the seventh, when Pablo Sandoval doubled. (deGrom did finally yield two runs to the Giants in the eighth, but by that time his teammates had gotten four off Peavy, and Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia closed it out.) Variety was the name of the game for deGrom, as he threw curveballs for over one-fifth of his 101 pitches on the night, much more than his 8.6% figure for the season. Check out this nasty one to get Peavy swinging in the sixth.

He did back off the slider and changeup slightly, but the curve really complemented his fastball, which topped out at 96 mph, his third-highest velocity ever. For a guy who made his professional debut in 2010 and hadn't passed high-A ball unitl the beginning of 2013, this is quite the turnaround. He rocketed up to triple-A last year and, after being called up to replace the injured Gonzalez Germen, has shown plenty of promise. (He even broke the Mets pitchers' 0-for-64 start to the season, getting a hit in his first big-league at-bat.)

Peavy

Peavy did deGrom one better through six-and-a-third innings, retiring the first nineteen batters he faced. He's a long way from his glory days with the Padres, when he amassed 22.9 fWAR from 2002 to 2008. His best FIPs, 2.89 and 2.84, came in 2005 and 2007 (when he won the NL Cy Young), and both are nowhere near the 4.61 he's posted to date. Back in the National League for the first time in five years, he won't be adding much value with his bat (.172/.210/.224 career slash line), but the Giants will certainly benefit from Peavy supplementing emerging ace Madison Bumgarner, as well as veteran Tims, Hudson and Lincecum, and 1998 Giant draftee Ryan Vogelsong, in his second stint in with the team.

Peavy relied on his hard stuff more than deGrom did: including cutters, 61 (68.5%) of his 89 pitches Saturday were of the fastball variety. Through the first six innings, he only allowed one hard-hit ball and a total of three to the outfield, one of which was foul.

Admittedly, both pitchers eventually caved in, Peavy allowing four runs in the bottom of the seventh and deGrom giving two back the next half-inning. But they both electrified the crowd for most of the evening, deGrom receiving a standing ovation upon being lifted for Familia, and both will be key cogs in the springs of hope for their respective teams, even if one's is further in the future than the other's.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference. PITCHf/x data fromBaseball Savant.

Steven Silverman is a contributor at Beyond the Box Score and a student at Carnegie Mellon University. You can follow him on Twitter at @Silver_Stats.

Eric Campbell hasn't gotten a chance to play left field, a position which has been a black hole of production for the Mets, but he should.

Lucas Duda’s ascension to the top of National League leaderboards has left Eric Campbell with few opportunities to crack the starting lineup. However, with offense in demand and a lack of production at the position, it’s time to give the 27-year-old rookie a shot in left field.

Since the All-Star break, the New York Mets have scored three runs or fewer in 13 out of 17 contests. The need for offensive production exists, but the current crop of left fielders are just not cutting it.

While Campbell may never be a quality starter, he has shown the ability to string together good at-bats and get on base, which is more than can be said about the team’s other options—just ask Bobby Abreu, who was designated for assignment yesterday. The mismatched parts still left on the roster aren’t impressive either. Eric Young Jr., Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and Chris Young all have major flaws at the plate.

This season Campbell has put together strong numbers, albeit in limited opportunities, hitting for a .319 batting average, a .362 on-base percentage, and a .412 slugging percentage. While there are a few red flags for Campbell, including a very high BABIP and a high strikeout rate, until he fails on the major league stage he’s the one option the Mets have who hasn’t failed in the past.

An argument against Campbell getting playing time in the outfield is that he will almost surely be a below-average defender. While this is no doubt true, both Youngs have posted negative defensive WARs this season, and only Nieuwenhuis has posted solid defensive numbers.

All four of these players have flaws, but it’s clear that the playing time in left field should be going to Campbell and Nieuwnehuis.

While logic seems to dictate the previous statement is obvious, Nieuwenhuis has spent the last few weeks in Triple-A, and Campbell has received only an occasional opportunity since the All-Star break, getting just 11 at-bats overall. Campbell has also been given little chance to play left field this season, appearing in only ten games and playing in only one full game there.

As the Mets fight to achieve a certain level of relevance, they cannot forget about developing players. Giving Campbell a more significant opportunity both helps the team's offense in the short run and helps the team figure out exactly what they have in Campbell.

We’ll see if the latest outfield shakeup changes anything, but if history is any indicator Campbell and his .362 on-base percentage will continue to have a near-permanent spot on the bench.

If he does pitch an inning in the majors this season, it will probably look something like this!

Matt Harvey was in Port St. Lucie today to throw off a mound. The right-hander was awesome last year under he tore the UCL in his throwing elbow in August. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October and is expected to be fully healthy in time for the 2015 season.

What did Harvey look like while throwing off a mound? Fortunately many intrepid tweeters were there to cover the action.

Wow! He's pitching again. This is pretty sweet. Mets PR master Jay Horwitz and fellow rehab patient Jeremy Hefner were also on hand.

Matt Harvey throws off the mound st Port St.Lucie. pic.twitter.com/VnhwjyD3gM

— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) August 5, 2014

.@MattHarvey33 is doing all the baseball things. pic.twitter.com/kJBAyiLkQC

— Jeremy Hefner (@jeremy_hefner53) August 5, 2014

Jayson Werth's Gnome Night and the game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets drew 40,686 out to Nationals Park tonight where the Nats dropped a 6-1 decision to their divisional rivals with Zack Wheeler working into and out of trouble all night.

Sandy Alderson Fan Top 5:

5. Quick Recap:New York Mets' second baseman Daniel Murphy managed to get a sharp grounder toward first base under Adam LaRoche's glove and NY's leadoff man took third as the ball rolled into the corner in right field in Nationals Park. David Wright lined Washington Nationals' starter Gio Gonzalez's next offering to left field and the Nats were down 1-0 early in the series opener in the nation's capital.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the second when Travis d'Arnaud doubled and scored from third on a two-out pop fly to right by right-handed starter Zack Wheeler that fell in front of a charging and sliding Jayson Werth. 2-0.

RBI single for @Wheelerpro45! 2-0 #Mets!! #NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 5, 2014

The Nationals cut the Mets' lead in half in the bottom of the second, loading the bases against Wheeler with back-to-back walks by Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond and a one-out walk to Asdrubal Cabrera before a wild pitch to Jose Lobaton allowed the Nats' first run to come in. 2-1.

Wild pitch! Three walks, to @e3LaRoche, @IanDesmond20& Asdrubal Cabrera, load the bases &#Nats are on the board on a WP. #Mets lead, 2-1

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014

The Mets added to their lead in the seventh. Drew Storen was on the mound against Daniel Murphy with the bases loaded and one out when he got what looked like it could be an inning-ending DP that bounced off Nats' second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera's glove. Two run scored on the hit. 4-1 NY.

Lucas Duda dumped a two-out pop into the left-center grass for an RBI single later in the seventh and the Mets took a 5-1 lead over the Nats.

That ball had eyes! Duda singles home Lagares. 5-1 #Mets! #NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2014

Kirk Nieuwenhuis lined a one-out single back up the middle and off Blake Treinen's shoulder to drive in the Mets' sixth run in the top of the eighth. 6-1 NY.

That's how it ended. 6-1 Mets final.

#WerthGoesGnome#WerthGoesGnome#WerthGoesGnome#WerthGoesGnome#WerthGoesGnome#WerthGoesGnomepic.twitter.com/FUVRcotkcv

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014

4. Bounceback: Gio Gonzalez went just 3 ⅔ innings last time out, in a start against the Philadelphia Phillies at home in the nation's capital, giving up eight hits and five runs before Washington Nationals' manager Matt Williams pulled the plug.

The Nats' 28-year-old lefty started the outing with three scoreless innings of work, but 30 pitches and two outs into the fourth, having faced nine batters and raised his pitch count to 77 pitches, Gonzalez was done.

The left-hander was coming off a strong outing, however, in which he held the Cincinnati Reds to one run on four hits in seven innings of work. Against the Phillies, he didn't have it.

"I don't know," Williams said when asked what went wrong.

"He threw strikes, but he got behind a little bit. They took some good swings on him. Hit the fastball tonight. Just didn't have it. Not as good as the last time out."

Gonzalez was visibly frustrated, talking to himself on the mound as he's wont to do when things don't go as planned.

"He just does that," Williams said. "He talks to himself out there sometimes when his mechanics aren't right."

Williams was sure to stress that it was just something mechanical, and not a flare up of the shoulder issues which landed Gonzalez on the DL earlier this season.

"He's fine," Williams said. "There's no issue with his shoulder or anything like that. He's just off."

#Nats vs. #Mets: Span CF, Rendon 3B, Werth RF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper LF, Cabrera 2B, Lobaton C, Gonzalez P pic.twitter.com/BolKNYJcES

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014

"I felt good," Gonzalez told reporters. "Just some ground balls didn't go my way. They found the holes. I got the pitch I wanted. I got the result I wanted. But they just found their way through. Base hits. The fourth inning just got me."

This time out, he was facing the New York Mets, against whom he had one good start (4/2: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) this season and one rough one (5/7: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER).

Over the course of his career, he'd fared well against the Nationals' NL East rivals, going (6-2) in 10 starts with a 3.10 ERA, 24 walks (3.72 BB/9) and 53 Ks (8.22 K/9) in 58 IP over which Mets' hitter put up a combined .195/.277/.310 line against him.

His 11th outing against New York began with a backwards K...

1st:Juan Lagares K'd looking at a 1-2 curve. Daniel Murphy snuck a grounder under Adam LaRoche's glove at first and took three bases as it rolled into the corner. David Wright stepped up next and lined the first pitch to left for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead. Wright stole second with Lucas Duda up and took third on Duda's groundout to first. Eric Campbell worked the count full and K'd swinging at a high heater. K no.2. 19-pitch frame.

2nd: Mets' catcher Travis d'Arnaud doubled to left on the first pitch from Gio Gonzalez in the second. Chris Young took an 0-2 fastball inside for a called strike three and out no.1. Ruben Tejada sent a one-hopper to Asdrubal Cabrera for the second out of the inning. Zack Wheeler popped to right with two down and it fell in for a single in front of a sliding Jayson Werth. RBI single. 2-0 Nats. Juan Lagares dropped a two-out single into short center. Daniel Murphy sent a high fly to the track in left-center where Denard Span made the catch for out no.3 of an 11-pitch inning that left Gonzalez at 30 total after two.

Thank you to the 40,686 fans who joined us tonight, selling out #Nats Park for the fifth back-to-back sellouts in Nationals Park history!

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

3rd: David Wright grounded out to his counterpart on the Nats to start the Mets' third. Lucas Duda did the same, to his counterpart. Eric Campbell K'd swinging at a 2-2 change to end a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 third that left Gonzalez at 40 total after three.

4th: Travis d'Arnaud grounded out to short. Chris Young did too. An 0-2 fastball got Ruben Tejada swinging and got Gonzalez through a quick, seven-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth. 47 pitches total.

5th: Zack Wheeler K'd looking at a 2-2 fastball for the first out of the fifth and Gonzalez's 6th K. Juan Lagares grounded out to short for out no.2. Daniel Murphy walked with two down, but David Wright popped up to right to end a 14-pitch frame. 61 total after five.

6th: Lucas Duda sent a fly ball to center for the first out of the Mets' sixth. Eric Campbell gave Ian Desmond some work on a groundout to short. Travis d'Arnaud stepped in with two down and sent a one-hopper to short for out no.3. 17-pitch frame. 78 total after six. 13 of 14 set down.

7th: Chris Young started down 0-2, but walked to start the Mets' seventh. Anthony Rendon had a grounder off Ruben Tejada's bat bounce off him for a single that put two runners on and ended Gonzalez's night...

• Gio Gonzalez's Line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks, 89 P, 58 S, 9/3 GO/FO.

3. Wheeler Dealer: In two starts this season against the Washington Nationals before tonight's, 24-year-old NY Mets' starter Zack Wheeler was (0-2) with a 6.00 ERA in 12 IP over which he gave up 14 hits, four walks and eight earned runs while striking out 11. Nats' hitter put up a combined .298/.353/.511 line against him in those starts, one of which took place in the nation's capital, where he gave up seven of the hits and five of the runs he allowed.

We love your enthusiasm, #Nats fans! #WerthGoesGnome is soon to be yours! pic.twitter.com/WILN9ZHL46

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014

Over his first two major league seasons, the former San Francisco Giants' '09 1st Round pick, acquired by the Mets in the July 2011 Carlos Beltran deal, was (1-4) career against the Nationals after his first two starts this season with a 4.75 ERA in 30 ⅓ IP in which Nats' hitters put up a .277/.326/.462 line against him.

On the year before tonight, Wheeler was (3-4) in nine starts at home and (3-4) in 13 outings away from Citi Field with a 3.30 ERA on the road (vs 4.03 in NY) a 3.60 FIP (vs 3.45) and a .234/.320/.342 line against (vs .260/.338/.395).

He came into tonight's start on a roll, however, after going undefeated in six starts in July over which he was (3-0) with a 1.67 ERA for the month, and a .228/.290/.386 line against in 32 ⅓ IP.

Wheeler's start in D.C. tonight began with a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 inning in which he induced three ground ball outs.

Nats' first baseman Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond drew back-to-back walks in the first two at bats of the Nats' second. Bryce Harper K'd looking at a 97 mph 1-2 fastball outside (and low). The third walk of the inning, to Asdrubal Cabrera, loaded the bases with one down and Jose Lobaton due up. A wild pitch allowed LaRoche to score from third, but Lobaton's grounder toward short hit Cabrera in the foot as he headed toward third so no run scored on the "single" and Gio Gonzalez popped to center to end a 33-pitch frame that left Wheeler at 46 total after two.

Denard Span and Anthony Rendon hit back-to-back singles off Wheeler in the home-half of the third, but Jayson Werth grounded into a 6-4-3 DP on a 96 mph 3-1 fastball and after a walk to Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond grounded back to the mound to end a 19-pitch inning. 65 total for Wheeler after three.

Bryce Harper, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Lobaton went down in order in a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 fourth that left Wheeler at 78 pitches overall.

Anthony Rendon took a 2-2 curve that was called strike three by home plate ump Paul Nauert, ending a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 fifth for Wheeler, who was up to 88 pitches.

Jayson Werth doubled to the left-center gap to start the Nats' sixth, but was gunned down at home by Mets' left fielder Eric Campbell when he tried to score from second on a single through the left side by Adam LaRoche. The play was reviewed, but the call was upheld. Two outs later, LaRoche was stranded at first. Nine-pitch inning for Wheeler. 97 pitches overall after six.

Crew Chief review just means we get to watch Eric Campbell’s gorgeous throw a few extra times: http://t.co/WMqxq1IIyw#LGM#NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2014

Zack Wheeler gave up a leadoff single by Asdrubal Cabrera on his 104th pitch of the night. Jose Lobaton singled on a line drive to center to put two runners on in front of pinch hitter Steven Souza, Jr., who grounded into a 6-4-3 DP. Cabrera took third. Souza was done for the night...

• Zack Wheeler's Line: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 Ks, 109 P, 66 S, 8/3 GO/FO.

2. #Spanning: In addition to extending his league-leading on-base streak to 30 straight games with his 30th double of the year last night, 30-year-old outfielder Denard Span made some impressive plays on defense, starting a double play on a line drive to center with a runner on second and making a diving play later in the game on a liner to center that looked like a sure hit off the bat.

Matt Williams talked after the loss to the Baltimore Orioles about how important Span is for the Nationals.

"He's just continued to play really well," Williams said. "He's playing every day. He's hitting, he's getting on base, he's stealing bases, he's playing great defense as usual, and he's a really good player. And we're happy to have him on our club, that's for sure."

In his second at bat of the game tonight, Span reached on an infield single off Zack Wheeler that Mets' second baseman Daniel Murphy got to but pocketed. With his first hit of the night, Span extended his on-base streak to 31 straight games.

Don't miss @ErickFedde, #Nats first-round pick in this year's #mlbdraft, chatting w @masnKolko on NatsXtra on MASN2: pic.twitter.com/jMkI3ONATH

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014

1. The Wrap-Up: Drew Storen took over for Gio Gonzalez with two on and no one out in the seventh. Zack Wheeler bunted both runners over/gave up an out. Juan Lagares took a fastball on the arm and took his base. Daniel Murphy grounded to second in the next at bat and it got by Asdrubal Cabrera. Two runs score, 4-1 Mets. Lucas Duda drove another run in with a single and the Mets led 5-1 after six and a half.

Zack Wheeler got a double play grounder out of Steven Souza, Jr. on the Mets' right-hander's final pitch of the night. Josh Edgin came on to face Denard Span with a runner on third and two out and popped to short center where Juan Lagares made a Span-ish diving catch.

Blake Treinen came out for the eighth, hit Travis d'Arnaud and gave up a single by Chris Young in the first two at bats. One out later, Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI single back to the mound and off Treinen's shoulder. 6-1 Mets after seven and a half when Juan Lagares lined out to right and Werth nailed him at home. 9-2 DP.

Jeurys Familia gave up a two-out double by Adam LaRoche, but nothing else in a scoreless eighth.

Treinen came back out for the ninth and gave up a leadoff single by Daniel Cabrera, but David Wright grounded into a 5-4-3 DP for the first two outs of the inning. Lucas Duda K'd looking to end the top of the inning.

Dana Eveland came on to end it and retired the Nationals in order.

Nationals now 60-51

The Mets beat the Nationals by a fairly wide margin this evening.

Zack Wheeler might not have been at his best against the Nationals this evening, but he wound up allowing just one run in six-and-two-thirds innings, and the Mets won the game 6-1. The Mets scored once in the first inning on a David Wright single and once in the second on a bloop single by Wheeler.

From there, neither team scored until the seventh, though Wheeler flirted with trouble on a few occasions. The Mets tacked on three runs in the seventh to widen their lead, the first two of which scored on a Daniel Murphy single. Lucas Duda blooped a single to plate the Mets’ fifth run of the evening later in the inning.

Wheeler notched a couple of outs in the bottom of that inning on a double play, and the Mets’ bullpen—Josh Edgin, Jeurys Familia, and Dana Eveland—kept the Nationals scoreless for the rest of the game.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

The Mets won 6-1 in the first of three games in Washington, D.C.

If you were to draw up a Mets victory, it might not look exactly like this one. While the team won by five runs against a division rival, they reached that destination via an unorthodox route. Ultimately, it worked, and that’s just fine, as the Mets are hanging by a thread and need to go on a run if they are to really get into a playoff race this season.

New York got off on the right foot in the top of the first inning. With one out, Daniel Murphy tripled, and David Wright followed up with a single against Nationals start Gio Gonzalez to score him. Wright stole second, but the Mets didn’t score again in the frame. Wheeler notched three quick ground outs in the bottom of the first, however, and the Mets scored another run in the second.

Travis d’Arnaud led off the inning with a double, and after Chris Young struck out and d’Arnaud moved to third on a Ruben Tejada ground out, Wheeler came up and blooped a single to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Wheeler’s second inning as a pitcher didn’t go quite as smoothly as it did as a hitter, though he got a little bit lucky in both roles.

Wheeler began the bottom the second with a walk. Then he issued another. He struck out Bryce Harper, but he issued another walk after that to load the bases. Then he tossed a wild pitch, which allowed Adam LaRoche to score easily from third base and cut the Mets’ lead in half.

With two men in scoring position and still just one out, Wheeler induced a ground ball from Jose Lobaton. The Mets’ infield was playing back, and Washington would have easily tied the game if the ball didn’t hit Asdrubal Cabrera in the leg just a few feet in front of Ruben Tejada. That put runners on the corners with two outs and Gio Gonzalez due up, and Wheeler got the opposing pitcher to fly out to center field to end the inning.

In the third, Wheeler gave up back-to-back singles to begin the inning but got a ground ball double play right afterwards and didn’t allow a run to score in the frame. He got through the fourth and fifth innings with ease, but he allowed a Jayson Werth double to start the bottom of the sixth. Adam LaRoche then singled to left field, where Eric Campbell—who got a rare start in left—fielded the ball and threw out Werth at home plate to keep the game tied. Wheeler got through the rest of the inning without issue, and the Mets widened their lead in the seventh.

After a Chris Young walk and a Ruben Tejada infield single, the Nationals turned to Drew Storen in favor of Gio Gonzalez, and Wheeler put down a perfect bunt to advance both runners. Storen hit Juan Lagares with a pitch, but when he got a potential inning-ending double play ball to second base from Daniel Murphy, Asdrubal Cabrera botched the play. Two runs scored on the play. One out later, Lucas Duda blooped a single to put the Mets up 5-1.

Despite the wide margin and Wheeler’s relatively heavy workload earlier in the game, Terry Collins kept the young starter in the game for the seventh. He gave up a couple of singles to start the inning, but he got another ground ball double play to leave a runner at third base with two outs as Collins turned to Josh Edgin out of the Mets’ bullpen. Denard Span hit a very shallow fly ball to center field, but Juan Lagares caught it, of course, to end the inning.

The Mets tacked on a sixth run when recently-recalled pinch hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to score Travis d’Aranud. For the bottom of that inning, Collins turned to Jeurys Familia, who threw a scoreless inning. And after the Mets batted in the top of the ninth, Dana Eveland took the mound and set down all three batters he faced to finish off the win.

In total, Zack Wheeler threw six-and-two-thirds innings, struck out five, walked four, and allowed seven hits. He threw 109 pitches, 66 of which were strikes. It was not his sharpest start, but it was another in a now-long string of good starts. Jacob deGrom is deservedly getting a ton of attention lately, but Wheeler has not been far behind.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Federal Baseball GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: Zack Wheeler, +28.2% WPA as pitcher, +7.3% WPA as hitter, Daniel Murphy, +18.1% WPA
Big losers: Eric Campbell, -5.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy’s two-run single in the seventh, +12.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jayson Werth’s leadoff double in the sixth, -11.3% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +31.7% WPA
Total batter WPA: +18.3% WPA
GWRBI!: Zack Wheeler

Washington Nationals' third base coach Bob "Old No Stop Sign" Henley sent Jayson Werth home from second on an Adam LaRoche single in the sixth inning of the Nats' 6-1 loss to the New York Mets. Was it a good decision? Is 1st/3rd with one out more desirable?

Washington Nationals' right fielder Jayson Werth jokingly referred to Nats' third base coach Bobby Henley as "Old No Stop Sign" Henley after driving Anthony Rendon in from first with a walk-off double that beat the Milwaukee Brewers last month.

Henley has been aggressively waving runners around all season and Nationals' skipper Matt Williams has repeatedly supported his coach's decisions whether they get the runner thrown out or not because Henley's approach is in keeping with what the first-year skipper has preached since taking over on the bench in the nation's capital.

Williams once again supported Henley's decision to send Jayson Werth home in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's game with the New York Mets, in spite of the fact that left fielder Eric Campbell threw Werth out at the plate in what was then a 2-1 game in NY's favor.

Werth doubled in the first at bat of the Nats' sixth, lining his 27th two-base hit of the season to left.

With the Mets' infield shifted to the right side to take advantage of Adam LaRoche's tendencies, the Nationals' first baseman took advantage of the big hole at short and shot a single through to a charging Campbell.

Campbell picked it up coming in and made a strong one-hop throw to catcher Travis d'Arnaud. Werth arrived at home a step late and slid in right foot first only to get tagged on his knee just before his cleat crossed over home.

Werth signaled to home plate umpire Paul Nauert that he thought he was safe, but Nauert disagreed and punched him out. After reviewing the play, to see if there was interference, the call was upheld.

Werth was fine with being sent around, defending the decision when he spoke to reporters:

Fair/interesting point by Werth in defense of Henley: the Mets' shift on LaRoche allowed him to get a huge lead.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) August 6, 2014

Matt Williams said much the same before Werth made his comments.

Asked if he was okay with Hendley sending Werth instead of keeping the outfielder at third and giving the Nats runners on the corners with no one out in a one-run game, Williams said he was fine with the send.

"It's fine," Williams said. "I thought Jayson had a good jump. He knows that they're not playing behind him. He knows that they're swung over, the shortstop is to his left. And there's nobody there. I thought he had a good jump. I just thought it was a good throw too. But that's the way we play. We're aggressive. We have been all year and we can't stop now. So, I have no issue."

Williams wasn't challenging the call at home when he went out to talk to the umpires.

"I just asked about blocking the plate," he explained. "We have a free look at it there for that rule, so I asked them to take a look and see if he was blocking the plate to get another look at the play. It's worth it at that point to just to go out there and say, 'Hey, will you guys take another look and make sure he wasn't blocking.'"

Nationals' outfielder Jayson Werth named NL Player of the Month

Photo © Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

d'Arnaud wasn't blocking the plate.

The Nationals came up empty in the bottom of the sixth. The Mets scored three runs in the top of the seventh and ended up winning 6-1.

As for Werth, he's been dealing with a sore ankle recently, but he avoided any further injury on the play at the plate, though he was noticeably uncomfortable running to first earlier in the game.

"He had a little ankle issue the other day and is working through it," Williams said.

"He just caught it as he came out of the box, the first at bat. We went out there and asked him and he was fine. He ran fine the rest of the night. But he caught it funny coming out of the box. But he's good."

• We talked about the play at the plate, Gio Gonzalez's start and more on Nats Nightly:

The Marlins designated the 23-year-old former top prospect for assignment on Tuesday. Should the Mets take a flier on him?

In a move that seems somewhat surprising, the Marlins announced that they designated right hander Jacob Turner for assignment yesterday in order to clear a roster spot for lefty Brian Flynn. Turner, acquired from the Tigers in 2012 as the key return for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante, has had an awful season with the Marlins and lost his rotation spot with the club after a decent 20 start run in 2013. While Turner's 5.97 ERA this season is ugly, he's just a couple of years removed from being ranked a top 25 prospect in all of baseball by a number of publications and at 23 years old, likely still has time to fulfill his potential to some degree. The issue is that he's out of options and cannot be sent down without clearing waivers, which seems highly unlikely at this point. With all of this in mind, I would like to see the Mets make a move to acquire the righty as a buy-low project in order to add to the organization's impressive portfolio of young pitching.

Drafted by the Tigers out of high school with the 9th overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, just three spots behind current Mets starter Zack Wheeler, Turner signed a major league contract worth $5.7 million over 5 years and began his professional career in 2010. He split that season between Low-A West Michigan and High-A Lakeland and had little trouble at either level. He began 2011 as a 20 year old at AA Erie and the results were much the same there before a promotion to Triple-A Toledo for three starts. Overall, he featured solid though not eye-popping strikeout rates to go along with excellent walk rates and an ability to limit hits all at an age well below the league average. He received a big league cup of coffee that season and made 3 starts for the Tigers, struggling in his first big league exposure but he looked to be on the cusp of extended work in the majors.

Heading into 2012, Turner missed some time early on with shoulder tendinitis and made his season debut on rehab with High-A Lakeland before rejoining Triple-A Toledo. There, he saw his strikeout rate tumble down to a disappointing 5.7 K/9, while his walk rate jumped up to 3.4 BB/9 and yet he still managed a quality 3.16 ERA. Turner also spent time in the big leagues, making three more poor starts before the Tigers dealt him to the Marlins at the trade deadline. Turner has spent his time between Triple-A New Orleans and the big leagues ever since with up and down results.

Despite the fact that the Mets appear to be up to their ears in quality pitching, they could always stand to add more young and inexpensive talent. Even with his struggles this year, the 6'5" righty has actually seen an uptick in his average fastball velocity from last season. Though the ERA certainly isn't pretty on the surface, Turner has managed to post the best FIP (4.01) and xFIP (3.93) of his brief big league career, as his strikeout and walk rates are both career bests. His 51.3% groundball rate is also easily a career high, a good sign for a pitcher that relies on his sinker, while his swinging strike rate, though not eye-popping, is right near his established career norm at 8.8%. The biggest issue for Turner has been the hits allowed, which have come in bunches this season as his .368 BABIP shows. The question then becomes whether this is an issue of opponents making hard contact against him, plain old bad luck, or some combination of the two.

So here we have a pitcher who is still quite young and inexpensive, still appears to have the stuff that made him a high draft pick and top 25 prospect in baseball, and is available on the cheap because a division rival looks to have given up on him during a down year. Under Dan Warthen, the Mets have had a pretty strong success rate in recent years developing young pitching prospects into major leaguers, whether you look at Jon Niese and Dillon Gee or Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler or even the current bullpen arms like Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia. It might be tough to swallow having Turner take up a spot on the big league roster without the ability to demote him but if the Mets can straighten him out, the reward could be well worth it for the organization as he would add yet another talented young arm to their impressive stable of pitchers.

Should the Mets try to acquire Jacob Turner from the Marlins and if so, what would you be willing to give up for him if the Marlins end up trying to trade him?

A world where the link dumps rule America, or where your dreams of being a link dump came true, or where San Francisco is a maximum security link dump

Hey, remember how Andrew McCutchen got hit by a pitch in the back because Kirk Gibson was being a whiny baby, and then he got injured and it was supposed to be his oblique? Now it turns out he has a broken rib, and apparently this wasn't Kirk's fault. All he did wrong was intentionally cause someone pain who didn't have it coming. That should help him sleep at night.

Jake Peavy may be key to the Giants' playoff run
Over at Sports on Earth, Wendy Thurm takes a look at how Jake Peavy is . . . well, it's all there in the title. But reports yesterday were that SoE is letting go a lot of great sportswriters, because who even wants to read a bunch of in depth journalism from talented writers about sports, anyway? No, the real money's in finding links on the Internet and writing several sentences about them. That's what the world needs more of.

Get the popcorn: more Biogenesis-connected players to be revealed
This year has been almost wholly devoid of steroid outrage, which is a travesty. How am I supposed to enjoy baseball if I'm not constantly calling players out for being drug-addled shams whose very existence is an affront to decency? Do you people realize what we've had to endure this year, actually watching the games? It's a miracle nobody laced Jered Weaver's Sun Chips with The Clear just so we could have something to yell about.

Mets Accidentally Hand Out Free Phillies Truck Instead of Mets Truck at Game
The great thing about the Mets is that they're constantly metsing in ways that it would never occur to me to even imagine. If I had been asked to come up with ways that this promotion would be metsed, I would have thought of the following: Truck only comes with three wheels, truck carries tiny pornographic magazines, trucks not given out because someone forgot, trucks accidentally given to Bobby Bonilla in lieu of money, trucks actually yachts with wheels hastily glued on. Phillies logo though . . . that's some next level metsiness. Kudos.

Really trying to understand why I was so wrong about NY Mets' Lucas Duda
The particular players involved in this story aren't especially interesting -- neither Lucas Duda nor Ike Davis is especially relevant to my life, other than in Duda's ability to get Camptown Races stuck in my head. But the interesting part of the article is the examination of the subtle biases that reporters must feel every day. For a more Giants-centric example, the reason Schulman loved Bengie Molina is that Bengie frequently sang the national anthem in the locker room, and never took more than 59 seconds.

Woman uses Nike+ to draw miles-long penises
They had me at "Penises"

Mets observers are celebrating that Sandy Alderson made the right choice in staying with Lucas Duda over Ike Davis. But are they letting a small sample size of at-bats this season sway their belief?

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It has pretty much been written in stone that Sandy Alderson was right on Lucas Duda. The I Like Ike signs sent to attics, or basements, or trash bins, or wherever fans keep their cleverly designed signs once they lose meaning. The Mets traded Ike Davis to the Pirates in April, ending an organizational debate on who the first basemen of the future should be. Ike or Duda? It took on a political campaign like intensity for the past several seasons. You couldn't meet a Mets fan who didn't have an opinion (and many still do).

Lucas Duda has a wRC+ of 176 since June 1. Over his last 207 plate appearances, he is absolutely crushing the baseball. He is hitting home runs and powering extra base hits all over Citi Field. Meanwhile, Ike Davis is wearing an unfamiliar black and gold, and batting a pedestrian 87 wRC+ since June 1. The debate is over! Sandy Alderson picked the right guy!

Or did he...

If we take the numbers that they flash on most sports telecasts, and look at Ike and Duda's career totals, we find very similar offensive players. Ike has had roughly 400 more plate appearances, helping his home run total, but in terms of batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging, the two are extremely close.

Now, let's dig a little deeper.

Ignore the WAR column for a second, and focus on the offensive numbers. This second table shows, even when looking at some more telling numbers than batting average or cumulative home runs, we once again find two players who have had strikingly similar careers at the plate. It's uncanny, really. The WAR total is where we see the biggest difference, and that is because if there is one thing that there is no debate about it is that Ike is a better defensive player than Duda, as is pretty much any player with a glove. Ike has also had more playing time to build his win value total.

Why was it so hard to decide between Ike and Duda? Because in many ways they are the same player, at least offensively, which is where we will keep our focus.

The purpose of this post is not to get back into the Ike versus Duda debate, although I realize I just spent a considerable amount of time introducing it like it was. Context is needed to understand why Mets observers are so keen in anointing Duda the Mets first baseman of the future. After a long debate, it feels as if clarity has been found. Therefore, it's time to announce a winner and move on.

My point is not so fast.

Lucas Duda has put together an amazing two months of baseball at the plate this season which has supporters smiling in confirmation of their belief in the goofy first baseman. But is a small sample size driving what is otherwise a typical season from Duda? If we weren't sure about Duda last year, and his offense makes this year feel different, do we feel confident that he can sustain his improved performance at the plate?

It is a perfect time to compare Duda's 2014 numbers to 2013 because he has nearly identical plate appearances this year as he did all of last season. As the table above highlights, he is without a doubt hitting the ball better than he has at any point in his career. His 2014 wRC+ of 146 is much better than his career 122 total. We also see that compared to last season, he is walking less, but striking out less, too. His K - BB %, which for a hitter you want to be low, is improved in 2014 at 9.9% compared to 12.3% last year. And the big one, ISO, which measures raw power, something that is very important to Duda's game, has jumped off the charts this year.

Duda is hitting for more production, while being more aggressive at the plate, and hitting for lots of power.

So how did Duda turn the corner? Let's check out his batted ball numbers.

This is pretty remarkable. Looking at Duda's line drive, ground ball, and fly ball rates, he is almost hitting the ball identical to last season. His HR/FB rate has increased from his 2013 mark of 13.2%, but otherwise, Duda seems to be making very similar contact in terms of the type of balls he puts in play. Something you wouldn't expect looking at the rest of Duda's numbers.

The difference in Duda's production is coming from turning more line drives and fly balls into extra base hits.

When Lucas Duda hits a fly ball, he has a career wRC+ of 158. That is in over 1600 plate appearances. This season, that number has ballooned to 212. He isn't hitting more fly balls, or really doing anything much different than last season in terms of batted balls, other than having more of his fly balls land for home runs and extra base hits. The same can be said of his line drives. He is turning less line drives into base hits, but the ones he does turn into hits are falling for extra base hits more often this year.

So the task for Mets observers before they anoint Duda king and Sandy Alderson right in his decision to trade Ike is to think about Duda's fly balls. His HR/FB rate is 22% higher this year than it has been over his career. He is hitting a stunning 212 wRC+ on flies this year, above his 158 career mark. Can he keep that up? And if he doesn't, and if his batted ball types are the same - he isn't hitting more line drives or fly balls which would help him generate more extra base hits when the averages regress - will Duda still be the better option?

In baseball, like any analysis involving data, it is about sample size. Lucas Duda started the year, in his first 178 plate appearances, with a respectable 110 wRC+ and .178 ISO, or nothing too different from what he has shown over his career. In his last 207 plate appearances, he has turned into Miguel Cabrera. His wRC+ has skyrocketed to 176 and his ISO is an insane .307. Over the course of the entire season, we see that his batted ball types are almost identical to what he produced in almost identical plate appearances last season. In other words, he is doing what he usually does at the plate, save the increase in power over the past 200+ plate appearances.

Rather than saying that Sandy Alderson got it right with Lucas Duda, I think we should pay attention to sample size. Duda has had a great two months this year, but we know that his fly ball production will eventually regress. At that point, he will likely return to the type of hitter we have seen in over 1600 plate appearances. Not a bad player, but not one that is clearly better than Ike Davis either.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

Jeffrey Bellone is an editor and featured writer at Beyond The Box Score. He can also be found writing for the saber-slanted site Inside the 'Zona, and about the Mets at Amazin' Avenue and Mets Merized Online. He writes about New York sports at Over the Whitestone. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter @OverWhitestone.

Professional athletes continue to try anything in order to optimize their health.

There isn't a more superstitious collection of individuals in the world than professional athletes. Many have pursued odd and sometimes controversial procedures to help with the aches and pains they deal with on a daily basis. So, say hello to cupping therapy, an ancient Chinese form of alternative medicine now making its way around major league clubhouses.

Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal chronicles the therapeutic technique several Mets swear by and no, this doesn't appear to be strictly a #LOLMets situation.

The sudden proliferation of cupping within the Mets and other major league teams illustrates the lengths to which professional athletes will go to try to stay in top physical shape. In the case of cupping therapy, that means subjecting themselves to a practice with a questionable scientific foundation. (The Mets organization declined to make its medical personnel available to discuss cupping, and declined to allow photographs of the therapy and its resultant bruises.)

Diamond goes on to detail the relatively simple and painless procedure (including a nifty drawing), which involves a flame inside a glass bulb applied to the skin for up to 15 minutes. The suction pulls blood to the area causing bruising and reportedly relief of tight and sore muscles. Similar to acupuncture, which has become more and more mainstream for people of all walks of life, some believe cupping can also help with other ailments, including migraine headaches and arthritis.

So, does it work? That depends on who you ask. Mets such as Daisuke Matsuzaka, Matt Harvey, Vic Black, Jacob DeGrom, and Jeurys Familia are proponents of cupping. Harvey, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery last fall, goes as far to say:

"It's something I can feel immediate relief from."

Immediate relief from a small flame and glass bulb? So apparently athletes around the world simply need to light a small candle, pop it under a glass cup, apply it to the tight muscle, and voila: instant relief. Not so fast says Barrie Cassileth, the chief of integrative medicine service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

"There's absolutely zero evidence that cupping has any kind of positive role in medicine. I cannot conceive of any benefit except a psychological benefit."

This isn't the first time we have all #LOLMets this year. Who can forget Eric Young and his hypnotist, coming soon to a Dave and Buster's near you? Then again, maybe there is something to cupping therapy. While discounting the physical benefits, Cassileth may have unwittingly hit on an even bigger reason athletes would choose to use it: the psychological benefit. If athletes who believe that  wearing the same underwear for a week is what's keeping a hitting streak going, a relatively painless procedure they feel helps alleviate aches and pains is child's play.

Harvey, who seems to make news on and off the field on a daily basis despite being injured, sums it up.

"If I went in and did it and just saw a bunch of circles on my back and it didn't actually feel better after I did it, then I wouldn't do it."

He has a point. Placebo and Hawthorne effects are real, even if the therapies that produce them are pseudoscientific hokum. Then again, Harvey also thought posing naked with only a baseball glove separating his manhood from our eyes was a good idea. But who are doctors or anyone else to say he's wrong? If a simple suction helps him and his teammates go out and win 100 games and ultimately the World Series, no Mets fan will care.

"You've got to pitch better," Gio Gonzalez said after his start in the Washington Nationals' 6-1 loss to the New York Mets last night. "If you want to win this game, you have to try to be better than the other pitcher." There were some positives to take from his start...

Gio Gonzalez didn't look too happy about being taken out when he was last night with two on, no one out and the opposing pitcher (a left-handed hitter) due up in the top of the seventh. He wasn't happy.

"I wanted to face the pitcher, yes, to get at least that out of the inning," the Washington Nationals' 28-year-old lefty told reporters after the Nats' 6-1 loss to the New York Mets last night.

"But I can only do my job as a pitcher," Gonzalez said, "just go out there and try to minimize damage."

Gonzalez held the Mets to two runs on five hits while he was on the mound and the two runners that reached in the seventh came around when Drew Storen took over on the hill.

Zack Wheeler bunted Chris Young and Ruben Tejada over after Gonzalez let them on with a walk to Young and grounder to third by Tejada that Anthony Rendon dove for but couldn't come up with, and after a hit-by-pitch by Storen on Juan Lagares loaded the bases, Daniel Murphy drove two in with a single up the middle Asdrubal Cabrera couldn't handle that gave New York a 4-1 lead.

The two runs Gonzalez gave up while on the mound came on an RBI line drive by David Wright in the first, which followed a triple on a grounder by first base that just snuck under Adam LaRoche's glove, and a two-out bloop single by the opposing pitcher that fell in over Asdrubal Cabrera's head in front of a charging and sliding Jayson Werth, bringing Mets' catcher Travis d'Arnaud in from third two outs after he doubled to left to start the top of the second.

"Triple. Double to left and that was it," Gonzalez said, summing up the Mets' scoring. "After that the pitcher gets a base hit on a broken bat, so just tip your cap, that's sometimes how the ball rolls. Can't do nothing about that."

All he can do, Gonzalez said, is pitch better.

"You've got to pitch better," he said. "That's the best I can tell you right now. You can't walk anybody. You've got to pitch better. If you want to win this game, you have to try to be better than the other pitcher."

Wheeler, 24, drove in a run with that broken-bat blooper and limited the Nationals to one run on seven hits in 6 ⅔ IP in spite of providing the home team with plenty of opportunities.

Gonzalez did, however, say there were some positives to be taken from his outing after he was out before completing four innings in two of his last three starts, throwing 88 pitches in 3 ⅓ against the Reds back on July 20th and 77 pitches in 3 ⅔ against the Phillies in his two previous starts in the nation's capital.

"To see myself in the seventh inning with like 80-something pitches is definitely an improvement," Gonzalez said. "It's moving forward and keep going forward from there."

Five of the six hits he allowed last night came in the first two innings, but he settled in with four scoreless, retiring 13 of 14 batters before he started the seventh with a walk to Chris Young.

Asked what he did differently after the rough start, Gonzalez said he just listened to his catcher.

"Just following [Jose Lobaton's] glove," he explained. "Trying to find the strike zone."

On Jayson Werth getting thrown out at home in the Nationals' 6-1 loss

Photo © Joy R. Absalon/USA TODAY Sports

Nats' skipper Matt Williams was happy with Gonzalez's overall performance.

"The hit to Wright, first pitch breaking ball," Williams said, referring to David Wright's RBI single in the first, "and the hit to the pitcher was not a bad pitch, but [Wheeler] got enough of it. Then he cruised pretty well through the middle innings."

"Then the last inning," Williams continued, "the leadoff walk then the ball that Anthony [Rendon] couldn't get when he dove down the line. Just... that ball could easily be a double play ball, but it was just out of his reach. So we decided to go get Drew [Storen] and try to keep it where it was at and then the bunt and then he hit Lagares and that was the one that got him because [Daniel Murphy] is swinging really well this year. Five feet to the left it could be a potential double play ball as well and then Duda hit the ball off the end of the bat. It's baseball. It's the way it goes sometimes."

The electric starting pitcher has seemingly cemented his future in the Mets' rotation.

The Mets harness an assortment of young pitching talent, a strength the team would be wise to convert into offensive help. Such a surplus leads to those pitchers being talked about in trade discussions, but mentioning Zack Wheeler as a trade chip looks to be a waste of breath.

After overcoming erratic command and eleven baserunners to allow just one run against the Nationals last night, the 24-year-old hurler has surrendered just eight earned runs through his last seven starts. His recent hot streak has him at a 3.48 ERA on the season, and it has apparently convinced the team about his immense value moving forward. Wheeler now is significantly closer to joining Matt Harvey on New York’s "not for sale" list. Per the New York Daily News’ John Harper:

"And so while it seems inevitable - and necessary - that GM Sandy Alderson will trade from his surplus of young arms for offense, the sense you get from within the organization now is that Wheeler is quickly making himself close to untouchable with his brilliance lately."

Even through his success, control has remained an issue for the young right-hander. He has issued 55 walks on the season, and among 95 qualified starting pitchers, his 3.68 walks per nine ranks 88th.

Wheeler was fortunate to escape Washington unharmed, but manager Terry Collins praised the sophomore’s ability to maneuver through trouble.

"You see it in every phase. He's not just throwing now, he knows what he wants to do. But the biggest thing is, I've seen a whole different competitor on the mound. All of the sudden he's a different animal out there."

While refusing to deal Wheeler is hardly a shocker, it could come into play if the Mets pursue Troy Tulowitzki this winter. The star shortstop easily justifies a pitcher of that stature, but Sandy Alderson could still assemble a juicy package around Noah Syndergaard if he wants to make a major splash.

Washington Nationals' infielder Danny Espinosa is back in the lineup tonight in the second game of three with the New York Mets in D.C. + Nats' skipper Matt Williams talked about Bryce Harper grinding to get back on track at the plate.

Washington Nationals' skipper Matt Williams is giving Asdrubal Cabrera a day off to get "Right Side" Danny Espinosa in against New York Mets' lefty Jon Niese tonight.

Cabrera has a .235/.270/.379 line in 141 plate appearances vs LHPs so far in 2014, to go along with his .249/.321/.385 line in 296 PAs vs RHPs.

Espinosa has a .309/.385/.494 line in 91 PAs vs LHPs and a .185/.244/.295 line in 217 PAs vs RHPs.

Is this a sign of a strict platoon to come to take advantage of Espinosa's numbers vs lefties...? Yes, it is a small sample size...

Espinosa's also 5 for 12 (.417/.500/.917) with a double and three Ks in 13 PAs vs Niese in their respective careers.

• Here's the Nationals' lineup for the second game of three with the Mets tonight:

#Nats lineup vs. #Mets: Span CF, Rendon 3B, Werth RF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper LF, Espinosa 2B, Lobaton C, Fister P

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

• Harper's struggles: Bryce Harper was 0 for 4 with three Ks in last night's game against the Mets, leaving the 21-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder 3 for 20 (.150/.227/.150) with 9 Ks on the current homestand.

Since returning from the DL after 57 games out of the lineup while he recovered from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, Harper is 21 for 98 (.214/.319/.306) with three doubles, two home runs, 15 walks (three intentional) and 35 Ks in 30 games and 114 PAs.

On Jayson Werth getting thrown out at home in the Nationals' 6-1 loss

Photo © Joy R. Absalon/USA TODAY Sports

Nats' skipper Matt Williams was asked about Harper's rough night and obvious frustration when he flew out to deep left field last night in the third of his four at bats and slammed his helmet at first.

"I'm okay with it," Williams said. "We've all been there. We've all been in that position where it looks like someone is throwing an aspirin up there. But it can turn quickly too and some days it just looks like a beach ball as well. So, I'm fine with him. He's working hard. He works hard every day. He's one of the first guys here to work and he's working through it. I'm good with it. He's grinding up there."

Harper's back in the lineup tonight, against left-hander Jon Niese, against whom he's 2 for 6 with two walks...

• Editor's Note:SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting daily $18,000 Fantasy Baseball leagues. It costs $2 to join and the first-place prize is $2,000. Click here for details.

The Mariners score over six runs for the first time since July 1st, defeating the Braves 7-3.

Meaningful August Baseball: Logan Morrison (.275 WPA)

NHL Rumors on the front page: Chris Young (-.101 WPA)

Well, that's one way to start a homestand. Chris Young gets win 10 and the Mariners...don't look incompetent?

QUESTIONS

1. NY Daily News Mets' reporter Andy Martino recently posted an interesting take on reporters separating--or not separating--personal feelings about players from their reporting. Considering we follow a team with the best pitcher in the AL, and a reporting pool that has for the most part been present for the arc of his entire career, what do you feel about the whole thing?

2. I assume most of you are scoreboard watching right now. What is your preferred method for keeping track of the AL Wild Card race? Watching the games? Checking a scorekeeping app? TV, radio?

3. Is retaliation ever warranted?

Catch up on all of yesterday’s minor league action from around the Mets farm system!

*All results from games played on Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

Triple-A - Las Vegas 51s (66-53)_______________________________________

LAS VEGAS 3, SACRAMENTO 0 (Box)

• CF Matt den Dekker: 2-4, R, BB
• SS Matt Reynolds: 1-4, BB, K, SB
• DH Allan Dykstra: 0-3, RBI, 2 K
• 3B Josh Satin: 1-4, 2B
• 1B Brandon Allen: 0-4
• C Kevin Plawecki: 1-4, R
• LF Cory Vaughn: 0-3, R, BB, 3 K, SB
• RF Cesar Puello: 1-3, 2B, BB, K
• 2B Anthony Seratelli: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB
• RHP Rafael Montero: 8 IP, H, 2 BB, 11 K

Double-A - Binghamton Mets (68-47)______________________________________

BINGHAMTON 9, RICHMOND 6 (Box)

• RF Kyle Johnson: 0-5, R BB, 2 K
• 2B Dilson Herrera: 2-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
• 3B Brian Burgamy: 2-3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K
• LF Dustin Lawley: 2-5, RBI, K
• CF Darrell Ceciliani: 2-5, RBI, K
• 1B Jayce Boyd: 2-3, 2 RBI
• C Juan Centeno: 0-4, R, BB
• SS Wilfredo Tovar: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B, BB
• PH T.J. Rivera: 0-1, RBI
• PH Travis Taijeron: 1-1
• RHP Tyler Pill: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K

High-A - St. Lucie Mets (22-19 / 62-48)______________________________________

NO GAME (Scheduled off-day)

Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (27-17 / 71-39)__________________________________

CHARLESTON 6, SAVANNAH 2 (Box / Game One)

• SS Yeixon Ruiz: 0-3
• CF Champ Stuart: 1-3, R
• 1B Dominic Smith: 0-3, K
• DH Matt Oberste: 2-3, HR, RBI
• 3B Neil Zapata: 0-3, RBI
• 2B Jorge Rivero: 0-3
• RF Patrick Biondi: 0-3
• C Jeff Glenn: 0-3, K
• LF Stefan Sabol: 0-0, 2 BB
• LHP Alex Panteliodis: 6 IP, 8 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K

SAVANNAH 1, CHARLESTON 0 (Box / Game Two)

• LF Patrick Biondi: 0-2, K
• CF Champ Stuart: 0-3, K
• 1B Dominic Smith: 0-2
• 1B Matt Oberste: 1-1
• 3B Neil Zapata: 1-3, R, K
• DH Jonathan Leroux: 0-3, 2 K
• SS Jorge Rivero: 1-2, BB
• C Colton Plaia: 2-3, RBI
• 2B Jonathan Johnson: 1-1, BB, HBP
• RF Stefan Sabol: 0-3, 2 K
• RHP Miller Diaz: 7 IP, 3 H 2 BB, 5 K

Short Season A - Brooklyn Cyclones (27-24)__________________________________

NO GAME (Scheduled off-day)

Rookie - Kingsport Mets (20-25)__________________________________

PULASKI 6, KINGSPORT 5 (Box)

• SS Luis Guillorme: 1-5
• 2B Jean Rodriguez: 2-3, R, K
• DH Pedro Perez: 0-3, R, BB, K
• 3B Eudor Garcia: 0-3, R, BB
• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 2-3, R, K
• LF Vincente Lupo: 1-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K
• 1B Zach Mathieu: 1-4, K
• C Luis Arrizurieta: 1-3, BB, K
• CF Ivan Wilson: 0-2, 2 K
• CF Jose Figuera: 0-2, K
• RHP Yoyri Nuez: 3.2 IP, 7 H 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
• LHP David Roseboom: 3.1 IP, H, BB, 4 K

Rookie - Gulf Coast Mets (22-18)__________________________________

As for Dominican Summer League Action, Mets1 played to a draw and Mets2 lost big time.

Star of the Night
Rafael Montero

Goat of the Night
Cory Vaughn

The Washington Nationals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Jayson Werth and a two-run home run by Adam LaRoche and Danny Espinosa added a three-run blast in the sixth in a 6-1 win in which Doug Fister dominated the New York Mets.

"Right Side" Danny Gnome Night Top 5:

5. Quick Recap:Anthony Rendon's 30th double of the year bounced off the out-of-town scoreboard in right field in Nationals Park. Rendon's one-out, two-base hit in the first was followed by a bloop single to right by Jayson Werth which drove in Washington's first run against New York Mets' lefty Jon Niese. The second and third runs of the Nats' first inning came on a two-run blast by Adam LaRoche, who hit a bomb of a home run off the facade of the second deck in right field. HR no.14 of 2014 for LaRoche. 3-0 Nationals after one.

WATCH: #TonyTwoBags got on, Jayson Werth brought him home: http://t.co/2reDLfcLwg

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

WATCH: @e3LaRoche smashed this one! His 14th HR of the season put the #Nats up 3-0: http://t.co/v6wbxF6MVJ

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

Ian Desmond singled and stole second with one down in the sixth and Bryce Harper walked to put two on in front of Danny Espinosa, who crrrr-ushed a 1-1 change from Niese and sent a three-run blast over the left field wall. HR no. 7 of 2014 for Espinosa. 6-0 Nationals after six.

WATCH: Danny Espinosa. Three-run jack: http://t.co/ezH8V2v0Ag

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 7, 2014

Doug Fister threw 7 ⅓ IP, striking out seven and inducing 11 ground ball outs on the way to earning his 11th win of the season for the Nationals. The one earned run he allowed scored after he'd left the mound when Daniel Murphy hit a two-out RBI single through the right side to make it a 6-1 game.

Adam LaRoche took a 2-2 change from Mets' right-hander Carlos Torres out to center for his second home of the night in the bottom of the eighth. No. 15 of 2014 for LaRoche. 7-1` Nationals.

That's how it ended...

WATCH: @thisisdspan's on-base streak is at 32 games and his hitting streak reached 10 with this single to left: http://t.co/hqOVQP88bV

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

4. Fister = Stopper: Nationals' righty Doug Fister's five-start unbeaten streak was snapped and he suffered his first loss at home in the nation's capital last time out in spite of the fact that he put together a solid outing against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In seven innings of work on the mound in Nationals Park, the 30-year-old right-hander gave up six hits, two walks and two earned runs in what ended up a 2-1 loss.

Fister struggled early, throwing 42 pitches in the first two innings and giving up a two-out double, walk and RBI single in the second, but he settled in and the only other run he allowed came on a solo home run by Marlon Byrd in the sixth.

"In that particular inning he felt like he was missing high," Nats' skipper Matt Williams said when asked about Fister's 28-pitch second. "He wasn't staying back enough, but he knows how to pitch, so once he got out of that inning he was able to make it in between innings and go about his business. I think he pitched really well again, we just couldn't muster tonight."

The loss left him (5-1) at home in Washington, D.C. this season with a 2.36 ERA, a 3.18 FIP, five walks (1.07 BB/9) and 29 Ks (6.21 K/9) in six starts and a .205/.245/.331 line in 42 IP in his new home park, where he was set to take on the New York Mets tonight.

His only previous start against the Nationals' NL East rivals came last season when he was still pitching for Detroit.

Fister allowed eight hits, two walks and one earned run in 6 ⅓ IP in that outing, earning his 11th win of the season in his 26th start for the Tigers. He's one win away from eleven wins after fifteen outings entering tonight's start.

Through those 15 outings for the Nationals, Fister was (10-3) with a 2.68 ERA, a 3.92 FIP, 13 walks (1.20 BB/9) and 59 Ks (5.46 K/9) in 97 ⅓ IP over which he's held opposing hitters to a .253/.284/.389 line.

#Gametime. @dougfister58pic.twitter.com/aMaxrnGoo2

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2014

The Nationals' second game of three with the Mets began with a line drive to right...

1st: Jayson Werth made a sliding catch on a bloop single to right off Curtis Granderson's bat. Danny Espinosa threw Daniel Murphy out on a grounder to second. David Wright stepped in with two out and K'd looking at an 89 mph 1-2 fastball for the final out of a nine-pitch, 1-2-3 frame.

2nd:Lucas Duda lined a single to center in the first at bat of the second, but he was doubled up on a grounder to third by Travis d'Arnaud. Kirk Nieuwenhuis K'd swinging in the AB that followed, ending an 11-pitch frame by Fister, who was up to 20 pitches total after two.

3rd: Juan Lagares grounded out to second. Ruben Tejada K'd looking at a 2-2 fastball that caught the outside corner in home plate umpire Larry Vanover's judgement. Jon Niese's groundout to second ended a quick, 14-pitch, 1-2-3 third. 34 pitches total for Fister after three.

4th: Curtis Granderson lined weakly to third for out no.1 of the fourth. Daniel Murphy K'd looking at a 2-2 fastball low and inside. David Wright dropped a two-out single into short right field. Lucas Duda hit a line drive through the right side for the second straight two-out hit. Travis d'Arnaud stepped in with two on and two out and grounded into a force at second to end a 19-pitch inning that left Fister at 53 pitches overall after four.

5th: Kirk Nieuwenhuis grounded out to first. Juan Lagares chased a sinking two-seamer out of the zone for a swinging K and out no.2 of the fifth. Ruben Tejada grounded out to second. 12-pitch inning. 65 total after five.

6th: Jon Niese K'd looking to start the top of the sixth. Curtis Granderson bunted his way on and moved up on a single by Daniel Murphy, but he was doubled up on a sharp grounder to third by David Wright that started a 5-4-3 inning-ending DP. 16-pitch frame for Fister, 81 pitches overall.

7th: Doug Fister got off the mound quickly and made a strong throw to first on a swinging bunt toward third by Lucas Duda. One down. Travis d'Arnaud sent a fly ball to Bryce Harper in left for out no.2. Adam LaRoche dove for a sharp grounder to first by Kirk Nieuwenhuis, made the play and tossed to Fister. 10-pitch, 1-2-3 frame. 91 total after seven innings. 10 groundouts.

8th: Juan Lagares singled to right to start the eighth. Ruben Tejada grounded into what could have been a double play, but both Anthony Rendon at third and Danny Espinosa at second bobbled the ball. E:5. Both runners were safe. Eric Campbell K'd looking for the first out of the inning on Fister's 10th pitch of the inning and his 101st pitch overall...

The line on @dougfister58: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), 7 K -- 101 pitches, 69 strikes. Stellar stuff from the righty. pic.twitter.com/E1GZee9Q1h

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 7, 2014

• Doug Fister's Line: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 Ks, 101 P, 69 S, 11/2 GO/FO.

3. Niese in D.C.: The Nationals knocked Jonathan Niese out after just four innings on the mound in the left-hander's only start against the New York Mets' NL East rivals this season back on May 16th in the nation's capital.

Tonight’s pitching match-up: Jonathon Niese (5-7, 3.24 ERA) vs. Doug Fister (10-3, 2.68 ERA) #NYMvsWASpic.twitter.com/WwPoJoutUM

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2014

Tonight’s pitching match-up: Jonathon Niese (5-7, 3.24 ERA) vs. Doug Fister (10-3, 2.68 ERA) #NYMvsWASpic.twitter.com/WwPoJoutUM

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2014

Niese threw a total of 84 pitches that day, giving up eight hits, two walks and five runs, three earned before Mets' skipper Terry Collins went to the bullpen.

The loss was Niese's first to the Nationals, leaving him (3-1) with a 2.83 ERA in eight starts against Washington in his career, over which he's walked 10 (1.89 BB/9) and struck out 45 (8.50 K/9) in 47 ⅔ IP over which Nats' hitters have put up a .280/.315/.387 line against him.

Six of those starts have taken place in Nationals Park, where Fister was (2-1) with a 2.23 ERA, four walks (0.99 BB/9) and 35 Ks (8.67 K/9) in 36 ⅓ in which the Nationals have a .282/.299/.308 line against him.

On the road this season before tonight, Niese was (3-4) in 11 starts with a 3.50 ERA, a 3.47 FIP, 17 walks (2.21 BB/9) and 49 Ks (6.36 K/9) in 69 ⅓ IP, over which opposing hitters have put up a .267/.319/.401 line against him.

In the Nationals, Niese was facing a team that has put up a combined .272/.331/.391 line against left-handed pitchers so far in 2014, good for 2nd in the NL in AVG, behind only the Rockies (.280), 2nd in OBP, behind the Rockies and Cubs who are tied with a .332 OBP, and seventh in SLG.

Anthony Rendon doubled with one down in the bottom of the first inning, taking a 1-0 fastball for a ride to right and the Nats' third baseman scored from second on a bloop single to right by Jayson Werth. 1-0. Werth scored when Adam LaRoche took Niese deep in the next at bat for HR no.14 of 2014 by the Nationals' first baseman. 3-0 Nats after one.

#HeadPatsForHomers! @e3larochepic.twitter.com/BJqrttBHeB

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 7, 2014

Niese needed 12 pitches to retire the Nationals in order in the second, leaving him at 31 pitches overall after two.

Denard Span singled to start the Nats' third, extending his on-base streak to 32-straight games, but he was doubled up on a grounder to short by Rendon in the next at bat. Jayson Werth walked with two down, but a groundout to first by LaRoche ended a 17-pitch frame. 48 total after three.

Bryce Harper lined a one-out single to center in the Nationals' fourth, but he was stranded two outs later as Niese finished a quick, 15-pitch frame at 63 total.

Anthony Rendon's second double of the night came on a two-out line drive to left in the Nationals' fifth, but he was stranded when Jayson Werth grounded out to second to end a 21-pitch fifth by Niese. 84 pitches.

Ian Desmond lined a one-out single to center in the bottom of the sixth and stole his 12th base of the season with Bryce Harper up. Harper walked to put two on with one out and Danny Espinosa drove them both in, taking a 1-1 change out to left field for a three-run blast and a 6-0 lead. 18-pitch sixth by Niese. 102 total.

• Jon Niese's Line: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 2 HR, 102 P, 67 S, 9/2 GO/FO.

2. Bad Bounces/Missed Chances: "There's no common thread," Matt Williams told reporters last night when asked about the misplays, misjudgements and bad bounces that cost the Nationals in the 6-1 loss to the Mets. "There's no way to say, 'Okay, this is because, this is why.'"

A player was thrown out at home last night. A rally was killed when a runner was hit by a grounder. Odd things went wrong and the Nats lost, but there was no one thing that was causing the issues.

AND he can fly! #Espinosapic.twitter.com/SFN2wB16Ro

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 7, 2014

"I haven't seen a guy get hit with a batted ball in a while," Williams joked. "But he tried to skip over it and the ball actually was hit pretty hard by [Jose Lobaton] and it skipped off the grass and just nicked him, so... it happens sometimes. Seems like it's going the wrong way the last couple days, but we can turn that around tomorrow."

The Nationals' turnaround started early tonight when they scored three runs in the first inning and they snapped a two-game slide with a 7-1 win.

1. The Wrap-Up: Buddy Carlyle took over for the Mets in the bottom of the seventh and threw a quick, 13-pitch , 1-2-3 frame.

Matt Thornton came on with two on and one out to face Curtis Granderson and popped him up for the second out of the frame. Daniel Murphy battled for eight pitches and sent an RBI single through the right side to bring in the Mets' first run. 6-1.

Carlos Torres took the mound for the Mets in the bottom of the eighth and gave up Adam LaRoche's second home run of the night in the first at bat. No.15 of 2014 for LaRoche. 7-1 final.

Ross Detwiler came on to end it in the top of the ninth, gave up a one-out single by Travis d'Arnaud, but nothing else.

Nationals now 61-51

A rough first inning by Jon Niese doomed the Mets, whose bats had no answer for Doug Fister in a rough 7-1 loss.

The Nats wasted no time jumping all over an eminently hittable Jon Niese, scoring three times in the opening frame, two runs coming on an Adam LaRoche homer. Niese settled in for a while after that point, but his teammates managed to do very little against Doug Fister, who scattered singles while gathering groundouts when he needed them. Niese dispelled any thoughts of a comeback, slim as they might have been, by giving up a three-run bomb to Danny Espinosa in the bottom of the sixth.

Full recap to come.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; your effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Jon Niese pitched well for four innings, but those four innings were preceded by a three-run first and three-run sixth, while his teammates had no answer for Doug Fister in a listless loss in DC.

Last night at Nationals Park, everything broke the Mets' way. The Nats bent Zack Wheeler but couldn't break him and were undone by a few weird, unlucky incidents in the field. The Mets made some amazing plays, gunned down runners at the plate, and tacked on late to put the game away. Usually, when the Mets play in our nation's capital, the exact opposite happens.

Call Tuesday evening the exception that proves the rule: When the Mets are in DC, strange things befall them. No other explanation would suffice for the appearance of two Jon Niese's on the mound in one game.

The Jon Niese seen in the first inning didn't care that the Nats were swinging early and often, and even obliged them by throwing far too many pitches right down the pipe. His trouble began with a one-out double by Anthony Rendon, who scored two pitches later on a Jayson Werth single. Then, Adam LaRoche knocked a fat fastball into the right field stands for a two run blast. Though Niese gave up no more runs in the frame, he showed some more lack of focus when he failed to cover the bag on a Bryce Harper grounder to first. Duda hustled to narrowly beat Harper, who inexplicably slid into first base. It's a dumb move for any runner, but Harper of all people should know the dangers of sliding headfirst.

The Jon Niese seen after the first had a much better understanding of opposing batters and was adept at keeping them off balance. First, he set down Washington 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second. He allowed a leadoff single to Denard Span in the third, but neutralized him by inducing a GIDP from Rendon, and worked around a two-out walk of Werth. In the fourth, he gave up a one-out single to Harper but nought else, and a two-out Rendon double in the fifth proved similarly harmless.

This second Niese was a crafty, quality pitcher, and might have warranted a better fate had he not been preceded by the first Niese, or invited him to return (more later). But even if the Mets' pitcher had been on his game from pitch one, his teammates would still have to do something against Doug Fister, which they proved themselves incapable of doing all evening.

Fister set down the Mets in order in the first on a pitch count that felt like negative-ten. After Duda collected the Mets' first hit to start the second, Travis d'Arnaud smashed a ball down the left field line. Last night, the way the Mets' luck broke, it might have gone for a double. Tonight, it bounced right into Rendon's glove and wound up a 5-4-3 double play.

The third passed without incident, and though the Mets strung together a pair of two-out singles in the fourth, d'Arnaud ground out to second to end the inning. The fifth brought another three-up-three-down inning.The sixth offered some promise when Curtis Granderson bunted his way on and Murphy singled with one out, but Fister saved his own bacon by getting a double play grounder off the bat of David Wright. All along the way, Mets batters continued to grumble about a certain pitch location—down and in to lefties, low and away to righties—that home plate ump Larry Vanover called a strike. Had they done as much adjusting to that pitch as they did complaining about it, they might have fared better at the plate.

With the Mets' batters intent on wasting chances and griping their way out of at bats, the first Jon Niese reemerged in the bottom of the sixth to salt the game away. It began when Ian Desmond lined the first pitch he saw into center, then stole second as d'Arnaud almost airmailed a throw into the outfield. Niese The First then walked Harper, who'd previously looked lost at the plate and showed up the home plate ump (unintentionally or not) by slowly walking to first on a borderline pitch that was called strike two before walking back just as slowly. The next batter, Danny Espinosa, had shown no ability to catch up to Niese's fastball in his previous at bats, so Niese charitably offered him an 81 mph changeup. Espinosa said "thank you kindly" by smacking it over the left field fence for a three-run homer.

For an eerie bit of symmetry, Niese #1 ended his final inning the same way he ended the first, by failing to cover the bag on a grounder to first. Apart from not being a very good pitcher, that first Niese needs to work on his fundies.

Now six runs in arrears, the Mets went down in order in the seventh. Fister's magic waned a bit in the eighth, as Juan Lagares started off the inning with a bloop single, and Ruben Tejada reached safely when Rendon mishandled another screamer hit his way and fired an errant throw to second. After Fister fanned pinch hitter Eric Campbell, he gave way to Matt Thornton. The Nats' newest southpaw got Granderson to fly out before giving up a bleeder to Murphy that drove in Lagares, thus allowing the Mets to at least avoid the indignity of being shut out. Wright ground out weakly to dismiss this whisper of a threat.

Buddy Carlyle was the first man out of the Mets' bullpen and pitched a perfect seventh. Carlos Torres was less effective, surrendering a leadoff solo shot to straightaway center off the bat of LaRoche, a home run that seemed to annoy Ron Darling on SNY far more than it did Torres or any other Met. (Ron seemed to think the Mets shouldn't let the Nats feel so comfortable at the plate, or something.)

The Mets could only cobble together a one-out single from d'Arnaud in the ninth against Ross Detwiler. That set up a rubber game matinee tomorrow between Jacob de Grom and Jordan Zimmerman. Regardless of the outcome, let's hope the Mets designate that First Niese guy for assignment before they head for Philly.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Federal Baseball GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners:Lucas Duda, 4.9%; Daniel Murphy, 2.1%
Big losers: Jon Niese, -23.3%; Travis d'Arnaud, -10.7%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy single, top sixth, 4.2%
Teh sux0rest play: Adam LaRoche two-run homer, bottom first, -15.5%
Total pitcher WPA: -23.3%
Total batter WPA: -26.7%
GWRBI!: Adam LaRoche two-run homer, bottom first