Mets have concerns of their own as they try to hold on to division lead

The Nationals are struggling to end a six-game losing streak, and while they are 10-20 since the All-Star break, all is not lost.

Not when you consider that the Mets, who have a 4 1/2 game lead in the National League East, have their own questions, likely more serious than those in Washington.

The Mets got a reprieve. They were swept at home over the weekend by Pittsburgh, but given the Giants' sweep of the Nationals in San Francisco, they didn't lose any ground.

The Mets have 44 games left and that could mean a long six weeks for a team that is as youthful as the Mets.

The Nationals, of course, have a lot of work to do - they are hitting .222 with a .295 on-base percentage since the break, but it will help if the Mets are pitching-thin, young and tight.

Both teams are buried in the wild card race. It appears that three teams from the NL Central - the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs - will make the postseason.

Against the Pirates, the Mets muffed routine defensive plays that cost them. And while the Mets fortified their lineup with Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson and Yoenis Cespedes, their schedule, bullpen and rotation might work against them.

The Mets are 21-34 on the road starting a two-game series against the Orioles at Camden Yards Tuesday night. After Baltimore, the Mets go to Colorado and Philadelphia.

At this point, the Mets have two series left against winning teams - the Orioles and the Yankees Sept. 18-20 - but their home-road splits don't favor them.

They have four home games left in August, 11 in September and three against the Nationals at home on the final weekend of the season in October. Meanwhile, the Nationals have nine games at home in August and 18 in September.

The Mets bullpen is an issue, even though GM Sandy Alderson has added Eric O'Flaherty and Tyler Clippard and brought up power arm Hansel Robles from the minors. Alderson is looking for more bullpen help.

Jenrry Mejia is out with a PED suspension and Jerry Blevins is injured.

Bobby Parnell is having the typical struggles returning from Tommy John, but he lost two games for the Mets at home over the weekend. Parnell was booed and manager Terry Collins says he is concerned for Parnell.

The only pitchers Collins can trust in the bullpen is Clippard and closer Jeurys Familia, 25, a rookie who seems to have shaken an August slump, but has to prove that he can do the job in must-win September games.

The questions linger about Matt Harvey, the Mets' ace pitcher who is coming back from Tommy John surgery. He's pitched 154 innings in 23 starts this year. The Mets were hoping to get 30 starts from him, but his innings limit is 190 to 195 innings.

So what to do?

If Harvey has only 36 to 40 innings left, the Mets are going to be weaker. The plan is to get lefty Steven Matz, who was impressive in his two starts this season, back from the disabled list at about the time Harvey reaches his limit.

Still, it is not ideal.

Does Matz, who threw 25 pitches in his first minor-league rehabilitation assignment Saturday, end up in the bullpen or does he work into the rotation to save Harvey?

For now, the Mets, who are spending Monday's off-day in Baltimore, are trying to forget the horrid weekend and looking at the big picture: They have the only winning record in the NL East and they are in first place with a lead over the Nationals.

But there's reason to believe that could change quickly.