Game 126 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

The Nationals are back home this weekend after a long, eventful (and still successful) road trip through San Diego and Houston. If things went according to plan, Max Scherzer would have been taking the mound tonight to face the Mets. Things didn't go according to plan, though, and Scherzer has been slower to heal from his second neck injury in a month, now hoping to be ready to go Sunday at the earliest.

So in his place tonight will be A.J. Cole, who makes his fifth big league start of the season, all of them in a fill-in capacity. Say this for Cole: He's been consistent. He's gone either five or six innings in each start, throwing anywhere from 96-to-109 pitches in each of them. Two of the four starts were quality starts, so he has for the most part given his team a chance. But he'll probably need to be better than quality tonight to give his teammates a chance against Jacob deGrom.

In an otherwise miserable season in Flushing, deGrom has been one of the few bright spots, though he has allowed five runs in each of his last two starts. The Nats lineup, meanwhile, has noticeably struggled since Bryce Harper's injury. In 12 games since Harper slipped on first base and hyperextended his knee, the Nationals have scored an average of 3.3 runs, down 2.2 runs from their average production in 113 previous games.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, XM 184/869, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 6 mph in from center field

NATIONALS (76-49)
RF Andrew Stevenson
3B Adrián Sanchez
2B Daniel Murphy
1B Adam Lind
SS Wilmer Difo
CF Michael A. Taylor
LF Ajenadro De Aza
C Jose Lobaton
RHP A.J. Cole

METS (55-71)
RF Brandon Nimmo
CF Juan Lagares
LF Yoenis Céspedes
3B Asdrúbal Cabrera
1B Dominic Smith
C Travis d'Arnaud
SS Amed Rosario
2B Gavin Cecchini
RHP Jacob deGrom