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NEW YORK – Hello from Citi Field, where tonight the Nationals open their final road trip of the season with the opener of a big weekend series against the Mets. Big for the Mets, that is. New York is clinging to a two-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Reds for the final Wild Card berth in the National League. These games mean a lot to the locals. The Nats, who just got swept by a Braves team playing for nothing, perhaps will be inspired playing in front of a big crowd and a team fighting for its postseason life.
We’ve got a matchup of rookie pitchers tonight. And not just rookies, but extremely inexperienced rookies. Andrew Alvarez makes his fourth career start for the Nationals. Brandon Sproat makes his third career start for the Mets.
Alvarez (1-0, 1.15 ERA) has been outstanding so far, but the left-hander faces probably his toughest challenge yet in Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and the rest of the Mets. Alvarez has managed to surrender only seven hits in 15 2/3 innings to date, and only two of those hits have gone for extra bases (one double, one homer). Can he somehow keep that going tonight?
Sproat, a second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Florida, was OK in his major league debut against the Reds (three runs in six innings), then great in his next start against the Rangers (six scoreless innings). The right-hander throws a 95-96 mph fastball, but has a deep repertoire of five pitches that he has already thrown at least 12 percent of the time each, so the Nats' hitters need to be ready for anything.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field
NATIONALS
LF James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
1B Josh Bell
DH Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Dylan Crews
3B Paul DeJong
C Jorge Alfaro
CF Jacob Young
LHP Andrew Alvarez
METS
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
1B Pete Alonso
3B Mark Vientos
LF Brandon Nimmo
DH Starling Marte
C Francisco Alvarez
2B Brett Baty
CF Jose Siri
RHP Brandon Sproat
