Opposite dugout: Mets hoping to put distance between themselves and Nats

Manager: Terry Collins (5th season)

Record: 75-61

Last 10 games: 5-5

Who to watch: LF Yoenis Cespedes (.301 with 12 HR, 29 RBIs), C Travis d'Arnaud (.293 with 10 HR, 35 RBIs), IF Daniel Murphy (.281 with 10 HR, 58 RBIs), RF Curtis Granderson (23 HR, 59 RBIs), RHP Matt Harvey (12-7, 2.60 ERA), RHP Jacob deGrom (12-7, 2.40 RBIs), RHP Jeurys Familia (1.78 ERA, 36 saves)

Season series vs. Nationals: 7-6

Pitching probables:

Sept. 7: LHP Jonathon Neise vs. RHP Max Scherzer, 1:05 p.m., MASN2
Sept. 8: RHP Matt Harvey vs. RHP Jordan Zimmermann, 7:05 p.m., MASN2
Sept. 9: RHP Jacob deGrom vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg, 7:05 p.m., MASN2

Inside the Mets:

There's no way around it: The first meeting between the Mets and Nationals since Aug. 2 - and the six games between the teams in the season's final four weeks - will go a long way to determining whether the Mets win the National League East or the Nationals can work their way back into contention for the division title.

The Mets open their final regular season trip to D.C. with a four-game lead in the division and one of the most dominant pitching staffs in the major leagues. New York has the third-best ERA (3.33), the sixth-lowest opponent batting average (.242), the second-lowest opponent on-base percentage (.242) and the fifth-fewest runs allowed (506). Never mind that Nationals manager Matt Williams jockeyed his rotation to throw his three best starters against the Mets for this series, the three games starting with a Labor Day matinee are going to have a distinctive playoff feel.

The Mets will be trying to put some distance between themselves and the Nationals to reach the postseason for the first time since 2006, when they dropped the National League Championship Series to the Cardinals. The Mets are hoping they can render the final series of the regular season - when they host the Nats at Citi Field from Oct. 2-4 - much less important.

Anyone who's spent the majority of this season waiting for the Mets to come back to Earth has to admit that they're a better team than many gave them credit for being coming out of spring training. Even if they rank in the top half of the majors in only one offensive category - they've hit the 11th-most homers (144) - they figure a way to win. The additions at the trade deadline of slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and veteran infielders Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe have added some punch and some veteran leadership. Third baseman David Wright is back after missing most of the season with spinal stenosis in his back. Cespedes has hit 12 of his career-high 30 homers since joining the Mets and recently homered in three straight games. Rookie outfielder Michael Conforto has horned his way into playing time by hitting .300 in 18 games with five homers and 18 RBIs. But slugging first baseman Lucas Duda, who has been on the disabled list with a back injury, is expected to return as soon as today. He's got 21 homers and 56 RBIs.

Lefty Jonathon Neise gets the call for the series opener, and though he hasn't prospered on the road this season (4-5 with a 3.78 ERA), he's got good career numbers versus Washington. He's 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA this season, 3-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 11 career starts and 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA in seven lifetime starts at Nationals Park. Since the All-Star break, however, Neise has gone 3-2 with a 5.86 ERA, with opponents slashing .284/.347/.453 against him. Left-handed batters hit him at a .290 clip, while right-handed batters hit .272. He can throw any of five pitches, but from his 16th to 30th pitches, foes rip him at a .330/.402/.527 clip.

Right-hander Matt Harvey is scheduled to go Tuesday night, and has become embroiled in quite the hubbub about how many innings he will pitch this season as he comes back after missing last year following Tommy John surgery. Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, last week accused the Mets of going against Dr. James Andrews' suggested limit of 180-190 innings this year, and Harvey over the weekend suggested that he thought he'd top out at 180 innings. The Mets say he's got four more regular season starts, beginning with Tuesday's game against the Nats, plus postseason and Harvey was troubled by dehydration in his last outing on Wednesday. Right now, he's at 166 1/3 innings pitched. Regardless of what happens, he's still pumping his fastball up to 99 mph and has gone 4-1 with a 1.64 ERA in eight starts after the All-Star break, with opponents slashing a lowly .193/.227/.302 during that span. Overall, he's limited the damage, with foes hitting .218 against him and nine straight starts of six or more innings pitched (only twice in 25 starts this year has he not reached six innings). He's give up 18 homers, but 13 of them have been solos. When he gets ahead 0-1, batters hit .167/.206/.258 against him. This season, he's made four starts against Washington, going 2-1 with an 0.98 ERA. In his career, he's posted a 3-2 record and 0.99 ERA in eight starts versus the Nats, with a 1-1 mark and 0.86 ERA at Nationals Park in three starts.

Wednesday's series finale will see the Mets pitch righty Jacob deGrom, who is 4-1 in his last 10 starts, going at least six innings in all but one of those outings. He throws heat - a fastball that reaches 99 mph - and relies on the fastball 63 percent of the time. This season, he's 6-4 with a 3.25 ERA on the road, but has allowed 13 of his 15 homers pitching in away games. Overall, foes slash .210/.252/.313 against deGrom, with a .221/.262/.396 line on the road. He's 1-2 with a 3.47 ERA versus the Nats in 2015 and 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts at Nationals Park.