Game 84 lineups: Nats vs. Mets

Good morning to you from the nation's capital, where the Nationals and Mets will celebrate the national pastime with the traditional 11:05 a.m. Independence Day ballgame. The early start time always catches visiting teams and media by surprise, but I've always found this to be a cool tradition, and I sense fans like it as well. What better way to spend your Fourth of July than with baseball early and plenty of time afterward for barbeques and fireworks?

The Nats and Mets will be a bit sleep-deprived when they take the field in a couple hours, but the starting pitchers will be well-rested, sent home early last night. (That's in part why Joe Ross wasn't available to pinch-run in the bottom of the ninth last night.)

Ross has quietly been pitching well of late, with a 3.03 ERA over his last five starts and 30 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. He, of course, has been helped all season by some ridiculous run support, with the Nats averaging 10.3 runs every time he pitches. They'll hope to keep that going today against Mets right-hander Seth Lugo.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. market), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, XM 184/869, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 87 degrees, wind 5 mph in from center field

NATIONALS (49-34)
CF Michael A. Taylor
SS Wilmer Difo
RF Bryce Harper
2B Daniel Murphy
1B Adam Lind
LF Ryan Raburn
3B Stephen Drew
C Jose Lobaton
RHP Joe Ross

METS (38-44)
SS José Reyes
2B Asdrúbal Cabrera
RF Jay Bruce
LF T.J. Rivera
1B Lucas Duda
3B Wilmer Flores
C René Rivera
CF Brandon Nimmo
RHP Seth Lugo