Gott excited to be up with Nationals

Right-hander Trevor Gott has appeared in four games for the Nationals during his September callup, posting a 3.00 ERA. In those four games, Gott has pitched three innings and allowed two hits and one run, with two walks and two strikeouts.

The 24-year-old said he battled an arm issue early in his tenure with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs this season that slowed his progress a bit.

"I had some inflammation in the elbow, so I had to rest that, get that down," he said. "Caught it early, which is good. I think it was a blessing in disguise. Came back feeling a lot better, throwing the ball a lot better."

Syracuse pitching coach and former major leaguer Bob Milacki worked with Gott at Triple-A and has joined the Nationals coaching staff during September. Milacki had a focus for Gott while with the Chiefs.

"We worked on the breaking ball a lot," Gott said. "I haven't had much control over it up here, but towards my end of the year in Syracuse, it started tighten it up a lot. I credit him a lot. He worked hard with me on some drills."

Gott was able to come in twice in the Mets series and earned a couple of big outs after Mat Latos had to leave Monday's game with a hamstring problem. Gott said it reminded him of his time last season when he was with the Angels.

"That was great," Gott said. "I think the experience I had last year helped a lot with that situation. But obviously it's a different team, different people watching. Felt really good to have success in that situation."

* The Nationals take on the Braves this weekend in their final visit to Turner Field, the same venue where this season began and Ben Revere was injured in the first game of the season. The Braves have been horrible at home, with a major league-worst 24-48 record. The Nationals have 41 wins on the road this season, which is third-best in the major leagues behind the Cardinals (43) and the Cubs (42).

The Mets have a one-game lead over the Cardinals for the final wild card spot in the National League, and they take on the last-place Minnesota Twins at Citi Field for a weekend series.