Could pitching be Mets' Achilles' heel in September?

The Nationals are struggling to keep pace in the National League East, but there's still a good chance they are going to win the division. The reason: The first-place New York Mets are facing pitching issues as the season goes into the final month. In a nutshell, the Mets' pitching has gone from a strength to a concern. The Mets' young starters are running out of gas, and the bullpen is thin and will be running near empty by mid-September. The Mets' bridge from rotation to bullpen is falling apart. Start with the rotation: Jacob deGrom has a 2.29 ERA and Mets fans wonder if his last outing, 2 2/3 innings at Philadelphia, is a sign of things to come. Matt Harvey, coming back from Tommy John surgery, had an innings limit of 190 to 195 innings. He's thrown 154 innings, not including spring training, and the Mets are trying to give him time off in the final weeks so he doesn't have to be shut down. Noah Syndergaard, 22, is in his first season and has never pitched in September, always a concern for young pitchers. He hasn't been able to make it through five innings in three of his last four starts. That leaves 42-year-old Bartolo Colon and Jonathan Niese. Niese is fine, but Colon hasn't looked good in August until he threw seven shutout innings in the Mets' 7-4 win at Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Still, he has a 4.68 ERA. The Mets are banking on a solid return by prospect Steven Matz, who is on a minor league rehabilitation assignment. He's pitched two games - both of them outstanding - in the big leagues, so the Mets are asking a lot from him. Colon's game Wednesday night against the Phillies seemed to be well in hand, but then Mets manager Terry Collins called in the bullpen and the Phillies almost won. Eric O'Flaherty, the lefty acquired from Oakland, has been a disaster, so the Mets essentially don't have a left-handed specialist. Carlos Torres is average and Tyler Clippard, the former National, has the potential to be overused. He's had a difficult time throwing consistent strikes. In fact, Clippard pitched Tuesday and Wednesday in Philadelphia in games that under normal circumstances he shouldn't have been in. Logan Verrett, who did well in a spot start Sunday in Colorado, and Hansel Robles are inexperienced, and that could hurt the Mets in big pressure games in September. "We've got to get it shored up," Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters. There 30-plus games left in the season. They might not seem like a lot, but when a team is short of pitching, it is an eternity.