NEW YORK METS (48-44, second place/NL East) at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (49-41, first place/NL East)
Monday: RHP Matt Harvey (8-6, 3.07) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (6-4, 3.99), 7:05 p.m. ET
Tuesday: RHP Jacob deGrom (9-6, 2.14) vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m. ET
Wednesday: RHP Noah Syndergaard (4-5, 3.05) vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 3.27), 12:35 p.m. ET
NATIONALS SHORT HOPS
The Nationals have been decimated by injury, with Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span and Stephen Strasburg all currently on the disabled list. Rendon, who has appeared in only 18 games this season because of assorted injuries, began a rehab assignment on Saturday for a left quadriceps strain. Zimmerman has transitioned well to first base, but has been dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He began a rehab assignment on Sunday. Werth (fractured wrist) should have a recently started rehab assignment shift to Triple-A Syracuse shortly. Span has been mostly idle the past week after receiving cortisone injection in his ailing back. Strasburg is dealing with a strained left oblique and is close to returning to a mound. Meanwhile, Danny Espinosa returned to the lineup Sunday after leaving the previous day’s game with cramping in his calves.
Bryce Harper ranks third in batting average (.337), first in homers (27) and fourth in RBIs (64) in the National League. He could become the first player to hit .350 with 50 homers since Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle with the Yankees in 1956. Harper is the only player to represent the Nationals three times in the All-Star Game.
Ex-Met Matt den Dekker delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning in the resumption of a suspended game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Den Dekker was acquired from the Mets on the eve of the season for Jerry Blevins, who has been out since April 19 with a fractured left forearm.
Free-agent-to-be Ian Desmond is hitless in his last 16 at-bats to drop his average to .204, although his early season fielding woes have subsided. Wilson Ramos is 0-for-his-last-12 and similarly has struggled at the plate this season.
Friday’s game against the Dodgers was suspended in the sixth inning because of three failures of a bank of lights at Nationals Park.
Yunel Escobar has capably produced in an otherwise-depleted lineup. Acquired from the Oakland Athletics for Tyler Clippard in January, Escobar has settled in at third base and is hitting .324 with a .370 on-base percentage.
The Nats have yet to name a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game with Strasburg on the DL. The Mets expect to see Tanner Roark. Roark has surrendered a team-high 11 homers despite logging only 63 innings.
