Game 45 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

OK, let's get the answer to your most important question out of the way: I don't know. The question: Are they going to be able to play tonight?

You know as much as I know. And if you don't, just click on any weather forecast and look at the Doppler map. It's probably going to rain, pretty hard, at some point late this afternoon/early this evening. It's probably not going to rain straight through the night. Will it not rain long enough for the Nationals and Mets to be able to play their series opener? And if so, when will that actually be the case? There's just no way to know the answer to that question right now, so why even bother?

So let's focus on baseball. The Nationals return home after a successful, 4-2 road trip that included two wins in three games in New York last week. And (if they play as scheduled) they'll get a rematch of the first of their victories, with Gio Gonzalez facing Bartolo Colon. Gonzalez was quite effective against the Mets lineup, allowing one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings (with some help from Felipe Rivero, who replaced him in the seventh with the bases loaded and got two quick outs). Interestingly, the left-hander will have a new face behind the plate tonight: Wilson Ramos. Jose Lobaton had caught Gonzalez's last 12 starts, dating all the way back to Sept. 11, 2015.

Colon, meanwhile, really labored against the Nats lineup. He only gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings, but he walked five (his highest total in 11 years) and hit a batter, displaying highly uncharacteristic command. The Nationals will hope to put forth another effect that combines patience with production against the big right-hander, who celebrates his 43rd birthday tomorrow...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, XM 183, MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 68 degrees, wind 5 mph out to right field

NATIONALS (27-17)
CF Ben Revere
LF Jayson Werth
RF Bryce Harper
2B Daniel Murphy
1B Ryan Zimmerman
3B Anthony Rendon
C Wilson Ramos
SS Danny Espinosa
LHP Gio Gonzalez

METS (25-18)
RF Curtis Granderson
CF Juan Lagares
3B David Wright
LF Yoenis Cespedes
2B Neil Walker
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
1B Eric Campbell
C Kevin Plawecki
RHP Bartolo Colon