Game 133 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Sean Nolin (0-2, 6.57 ERA) will take the hill tonight to face the Mets.

Since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Aug. 11, the lefty has made three starts, two of them against the Mets, against whom he's gone 0-1 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.680 WHIP, allowing six runs on 14 hits with no walks, three strikeouts and three homers yielded in 8 1/3 innings.

The way things are going, the Nationals would be thrilled to get some length out of Nolin, whose longest start of the season came in his last outing against - you guessed it - the Mets. On Aug. 28 in a 5-3 loss, Nolin worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits at Citi Field. He got a no-decision, but two of the hits he allowed were home runs.

Not surprisingly, the Mets have good numbers against Nolin: a cumulative .378/.378/.649 slash line. Kevin Pillar is 2-for-2 off the southpaw with two homers, and Brandon Nimmo is 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs.

But since the Nats have lost five straight games and seven of eight overall, a decent start from the 31-year-old journeyman would be a welcome development.

The Mets will pitch 41-year-old Rich Hill (0-2, 4.83 ERA), who has made seven appearances, including six starts, since being traded to New York from Tampa Bay on July 23. Overall, in 26 games (25 starts) this season, the lefty is 6-6 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.197 WHIP.

Hill has faced the Nats three times this season - once with the Rays, twice with the Mets - and gone 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance. The 17-year veteran has a lifetime 2-4 record and a 4.64 ERA in 10 games (seven starts) versus Washington. At Nationals Park in his career, Hill is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA and 1.140 WHIP in four games, three of them starts.

Current Nats slash an aggregate .297/.376/.613 off Hill, led by Ryan Zimmerman, who is 7-for-14 (.500) with two homers and three RBIs. Alcides Escobar is 4-for-8 (.500) with an RBI and Juan Soto is 2-for-7 (.286) with a homer and three RBIs

Josh Bell is in left field tonight, with Zimmerman at first base, as the Nats work another right-handed bat into the lineup against southpaw Hill.

Note: Rochester left-hander Ben Braymer was named the Triple-A East Pitcher of the Month for August after going 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA in six appearances, four of them starts. He had two or fewer hits allowed in four games and three scoreless starts.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly sunny, 75 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
SS Alcides Escobar
RF Juan Soto
LF Josh Bell
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Riley Adams
3B Carter Kieboom
2B Luis García
LHP Sean Nolin

METS
3B Jonathan Villar
CF Brandon Nimmo
SS Francisco Lindor
1B Pete Alonso
2B Javier Báez
RF Michael Conforto
LF Kevin Pillar
C Chance Sisco
LHP Rich Hill