The seemingly unstoppable Mets (18-7) will had to our Nation’s capital to face the less-unstoppable Nationals (11-14). The Mets dominated the Nationals last year to the tune of an 11-2 record, with both losses coming in back-to-back games in July in DC. The Mets were 5-2 overall at Nationals Park in 2025.
The Mets kept chugging along over the early part of this week, sweeping the Phillies at home to complete a 7-0 homestand—with the win, the Mets improved to 12-1 at Citi Field this season. Francisco Lindor was the hero of Monday night’s game, blasting two home runs to provide almost all the offense in a 5-4 victory. He contributed four of the five runs for the game, with Jesse Winker’s home run adding the fifth run. The bullpen almost coughed it up in the ninth, but they were able to hold on.
The Mets extended their streak to six with a 5-1 on Tuesday. The Mets got five strong one-run innings from Griffin Canning, who earned his third victory in as many starts, and the bullpen contributed four shutout innings. On offense, the Mets got a run in the first on a Mark Vientos double, and a run in the second on a Lindor single. With the score 2-1, New York got three insurance runs in the seventh, one coming off the bat of Pete Alonso and two coming courtesy of Luis Torrens.
The Mets completed the sweep in walk off fashion, picking up a 4-3 win on Wednesday afternoon. The lone offense off Zack Wheeler came courtesy of a Brett Baty two-run homer, but Philadelphia would plate two of their own to tie it up. The game remain tied into the tenth, when Philadelphia capitalized on the free runner. Not to be outdone, Alonso tied the game up with a double and, after Brandon Nimmo was walked intentionally and Vientos struck out, Starling Marte provided a two-out hit to score Alonso from second.
The Mets, who are firing on all cylinders, are about to get reinforcements as Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez are expected back after completing their rehab assignments. The players most closely affected by the news are Baty, Luisangel Acuña, Hayden Senger, and José Azócar. While the latter two are likely to be the roster moves to make way for McNeil and Alvarez, Baty and Acuña seem destined to stick it out in the majors. On the season, Baty is hitting .204/.246/.352 with a 68 wRC+ but has been better of late. On the seven-game homestand, Baty slashed .286/.412/.643 with a 190 wRC+, which is second on the club behind only Lindor in that span. Acuña, meanwhile, is hitting .283/.356/.377 with a 112 wRC+, which is fourth on the team while also leading the club with six stolen bases.
The Nationals enter this series after taking two of three from the Orioles, and winners of four out of six overall. They currently find themselves in fourth in the NL East.
They are a fairly light-hitting team, as their 92 wRC+ and .682 OPS are third-worst in the NL. They have scored 105 runs as a team, which matches the Mets, and their 27 home runs are squarely in the middle of the NL (seventh, to be exact). They also don’t strike out a ton (20.3% K%, third-best in the NL) but also don’t walk a ton (8.4% BB%, third-lowest in the league).
Their starting pitching is solid, with a 3.53 ERA (fifth-best in the NL) and 3.42 FIP (third-best in the NL). Their bullpen, on the other hand, is a disaster. Their relievers have posted a 6.69 ERA—the worst in the National League by over a full run—while pitching to a 4.90 FIP, which is third worst.
James Wood has been the talk of the team so far this season. The former second round pick, who came to Washington in the Soto trade with San Diego, is hitting .247/.352/.559 with eight home runs, 17 runs scored, 18 runs batted in, and a team-best 152 wRC+ and 0.8 fWAR in 25 games. Dylan Crews, on the other hand, hasn’t had a great start to his second. The second overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is slashing .188/.217/.313 with three homers, 13 runs scored, five runs batted in, a 46 wRC+, and a -0.2 fWAR in 22 games for the Nationals.
Friday, April 25: Kodai Senga vs. Jake Irvin, 6:45 PM EDT on SNY
Senga (2025): 22,2 IP, 20 K, 7 BB, 1 HR, 0.79 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 21 ERA-
Senga picked up his third win in a row after shutting out St. Louis over 5 2⁄3 innings while allowing two hits, striking out four, and walking two. Senga allowed two earned runs in his first inning of the season, and has not allowed an earned run since—he has just allowed two unearned runs in that span. He carries a scoreless inning streak of 19 2⁄3 into this start, and his 21 ERA- is tops among NL starting pitchers with at least 20 innings under their belt. All this is especially impressive considering Senga barely pitched last season and entered the season with some question marks about how he will respond after missing so much time with an injury.
Irvin (2025): 29.1 IP, 27 K, 7 BB, 6 HR, 3.68 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 93 ERA-
Through his first three starts, Irvin had a 5.63 ERA (10 ER in 16 innings). Over his last two starts, he’s allowed two earned runs in 13 1⁄3 innings to lower his ERA on the season by almost two full runs. He’s done it by limiting baserunners, allowing six hits combined over his last two starts after allowing 18 in his first three. He’s also been limiting the free passes, walking just one batter in those starts after walking six in his first three outings. The big difference is those last two starts came against the Pirates and Rockies, whereas the first three came against the Phillies, the Diamondbacks, and the Dodgers. In facing a tough Mets lineup, it’ll be interesting to see how the righty responds.
Saturday, April 26: Clay Holmes vs. Brad Lord, 4:05 PM EDT on SNY
Holmes (2025): 25.2 IP, 34 K, 13 BB, 0 HR, 3.16 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 82 ERA-
Holmes continued a strong start to his season by hurling six innings of one-run ball against the Cardinals in a no decision. He allowed four hits, struck out six, and walked two in the outing, which lowered his ERA by a half-run. Holmes has now gone six starts without surrendering a homer, making him one of three National League starting pitchers to not allow a home run this season. His 30.1% K% ranks 10th among qualified NL starters.
Lord (2025): 13.1 IP, 10 K, 9 BB, 0 HR, 4.73 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 118 ERA-
Lord was originally an 18th round draft pick for Washington in 2022, and he finally got the call to the show this year. His first three appearances came in relief, but he has broken into the rotation. In three starts, he has allowed six earned runs on 13 hits over 11 1⁄3 innings. He suffered the loss his last time out against Colorado, allowing two earned runs on five hits, with five strikeouts and two walks over four innings.
Sunday, April 27: Tylor Megill vs. Mitchell Parker, 1:35 PM EDT on WPIX
Megill (2025): 24.2 IP, 30 K, 11 BB, 0 HR, 1.07 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 28 ERA-
Speaking of NL starters who have not allowed a home run yet this season, Megill is on that list alongside Holmes. The right-hander struck out a season high 10 while shutting out the Phillies over 5 1⁄3 innings of one-hit ball. He did walk four, which is not what you want, but he otherwise produced another strong start to pick up his third win in five tries. Megill has always been strong at the start of seasons in his career, as evidenced by his 2.31 ERA in 16 career March/April games. The trick is for him to continue it beyond the opening months, which he has so rarely done.
Parker (2025): 32.1 IP, 20 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 1.73 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 35 ERA-
Parker has been a revelation for Washington this year in his second big league season. The left-hander, who was picked in the fifth round in 2020, has the third-best ERA and ERA- among qualified NL starters. The one concern is the walks, which remain higher than you’d like (his 3.06 BB/9 is 13th highest among qualified NL starters). He is coming off his best start of the year, limiting Baltimore to one hit over eight shutout innings as he earned his third win of the year.
Monday, April 28: Griffin Canning vs. Trevor Williams, 4:05 PM EDT on SNY
Canning (2025): 26.0 IP, 26 K, 11 BB, 2 HR, 3.12 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 81 ERA-
Canning kind of gets lost in the shuffle, but he has been a big part of the rotation’s early-season success. The right-hander picked up a win in his third straight start by limiting Philadelphia to one earned run on seven hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked one, and the offense did the rest. You would take that any time from your fifth starter, and Canning continues to excel in the role.
Williams (2025): 24.2 IP, 21 K, 7 BB, 3 HR, 5.11 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 128 ERA-
Williams has found a home in Washington since leaving the Mets, and has been a steady part of their rotation. His numbers really suffer from one bad start in which he was tagged for six earned runs over 4 2⁄3 innings. Since then, he’s had back-to-back starts where he allowed one earned run over five innings. His last time out against Baltimore, he settled for a no decision, but it was a strong start as he allowed one run on six hits, with one walk and five strikeouts.
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