Boy, did the Nationals need that win Wednesday night. After dropping five straight to the Mets to begin the season, then falling behind 5-0, they stormed back to win 7-5 thanks to the offensive heroics of Luis García Jr. and James Wood and a really impressive job by an overworked bullpen.
The domino effect of that, though: You have to assume Robert Garcia, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan are all going to be unavailable for this morning’s series finale, none of them able to pitch for the fourth straight day. If this game is close late, Davey Martinez is going to have to rely on some different relievers for a change.
A long start out of Jake Irvin would help the cause tremendously, and Irvin has shown an ability to do that this year. He has completed at least six innings 12 times in 17 starts, and he has reached the seventh twice. If he can keep his pitch count manageable, you wonder if Martinez will push the right-hander a bit more than usual today.
After finally facing a right-hander Wednesday, the Nats will be going up against a lefty again today in veteran Jose Quintana. Given how well Wood has handled southpaws so far, you have to think he’ll remain in a prominent spot in the lineup.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Harold Ramírez
1B Joey Meneses
LF James Wood
3B Nick Senzel
C Riley Adams
2B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Jacob Young
RHP Jake Irvin
METS
SS Francisco Lindor
LF Brandon Nimmo
C Francisco Alvarez
1B Pete Alonso
DH DJ Stewart
3B Mark Vientos
RF Ben Gamel
CF Tyrone Taylor
2B Jeff McNeil
LHP Jose Quintana