Mets host the Nationals on 5-game home win streak
Washington Nationals (30-37, third in the NL East) vs. New York Mets (44-24, first in the NL East)
New York; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Mike Soroka (3-3, 4.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 35 strikeouts); Mets: Kodai Senga (6-3, 1.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 65 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mets -251, Nationals +204; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets will try to keep a five-game home win streak going when they take on the Washington Nationals.
New York has gone 26-7 at home and 44-24 overall. The Mets have hit 87 total home runs to rank seventh in MLB play.
Washington is 15-19 on the road and 30-37 overall. The Nationals are 21-5 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
The matchup Thursday is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The Mets have a 4-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 13 doubles, 13 home runs and 35 RBIs while hitting .252 for the Mets. Pete Alonso is 15 for 40 with three doubles and six home runs over the last 10 games.
James Wood has 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 45 RBIs for the Nationals. Josh Bell is 8 for 36 with a double, two home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 8-2, .255 batting average, 2.67 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
Nationals: 3-7, .211 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
INJURIES: Mets: Mark Vientos: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jesse Winker: 10-Day IL (side), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), A.J. Minter: 60-Day IL (lat), Frankie Montas: 60-Day IL (lat), Brooks Raley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sean Manaea: 60-Day IL (oblique), Jose Siri: 10-Day IL (shin), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Smith: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christian Scott: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Nationals: Dylan Crews: 10-Day IL (back), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In Charlie Hustle's day, 110% effort was non-negotiable. In modern baseball, it's more complicated
DENVER (AP) — Imagine this inspirational slogan on a T-shirt: Give 70% effort. It's not quite as catchy as the 110% baseball players have been instructed to exert since Little League. But maybe, just maybe, Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s on to something with his theory that going 70% might be the way to be his best self — and cut down on strained obliques or pulled hamstrings in the process. Only, hustle is woven into the fabric of the game. Nicknames derive from it (Charlie Hustle) and awards are built around it ( Heart & Hustle ). This season, hustle has already come into play on several occasions. Most notably, when Juan Soto, the Mets $765 million star, didn't run hard to second base after smacking a ball high off the Green Monster at Fenway Park. In this modern era of baseball, where the average salary topped $5 million for the first time this season, the politics of hustle may play a role. There's the fundamental notion of hustle (run everything out) set against the possible ramifications of hustle (injuries to high-priced players). To the old guard, though, hustle is a non-negotiable. A lack thereof risks the wrath of not only teammates but a spot in a manager's doghouse. Which is why Chisholm's 70% mindset doesn't quite fly for Ron Washington, a gritty player back in the late 1970s and '80s who now manages the Los Angeles Angels. 'You give the visual of 100% at all times,' the 73-year-old Washington told The Associated Press. 'The only person who knows you're 70% is you, but don't tell people you're 70%, so when they see you dog it, they say, 'Well, he's only 70%.'' The definition of hustle The Baseball Almanac defines hustle as 'to play aggressively, quickly, and alertly.' Translation: You know it when you see it. Two months ago, Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. criticized manager Brian Snitker's lack of response to Jarred Kelenic failing to hustle out of the batter's box. Acuña was removed from a Braves game on Aug. 19, 2019, when he was slow to leave the batter's box on a long drive that bounced off the right-field wall for a long single. 'There's no blanket thing,' Snitker said after the Kelenic situation on removing players for lack of hustle. To Washington, the definition of hustle has 'changed in this generation,' he said. 'Because (the lack of hustle) wouldn't have been allowed in other generations. … Now people don't want to pull their best player off the field when he acts like an (expletive). I'm sorry. They don't want to pull him. Because you pull him, you just gutted the whole team. 'Back in the day, they didn't care. You didn't hustle, your (butt) is off the field. And you know who took care of it when they took you off the field? The players. Not management. Not the manager, not the coaches. The players took care of it.' That's Vinny Castilla's take, too. The two-time All-Star for the Colorado Rockies in the 1990s had veterans pull him aside when sometimes 'you don't feel too good and you don't go 100%.' 'The veterans step in and say, 'Hey, man, you've got to do it. You've got to hustle every day,'' Castilla said. 'Hustle doesn't change. … Some players love to play hard and get their uniform dirty, and some players don't like to do it.' Give 100% of how you feel Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that he generally expects players to give 100% each day, but that's relative to how their feeling. As a recent example, Lovullo cited star outfielder Corbin Carroll, who was nursing a tight hamstring during a series in Cincinnati. 'For Corbin the past couple days, just give me 100% of what you have,' Lovullo said. 'So, yeah, we'll protect players.' In most cases, Lovullo said, hustle is a hard thing to turn on and off. 'If a player is healthy, I feel like there's no reason to not go 100%. To run fast, you've got to practice running fast,' he said. 'To throw hard, you've got to practice throwing hard. You can't turn it on and off. I think you're risking injury when you don't go hard and then all (of a) sudden you need to go hard.' The 70% approach Chisholm believes he found the key to playing well and staying healthy by going 70%. The New York Yankees infielder postulated that his success since returning from the injured list has been caused by limiting intensity. 'Play at 70%: defense, offense, running, everything,' Chisholm said. 'Stay healthy. You don't overswing. You don't swing and miss as much, and you're a great player at 70%.' Of course, that wouldn't have gone over well with 'Charlie Hustle' himself — the late Pete Rose, who elevated hustling to an art form. That was also before the age of the viral bat flip. Admiring homers is not just permitted, it's encouraged — and doesn't result in a fastball to the ribs the next go-around at the plate. In Soto's case, he appeared slow out of the box after watching what he thought was a homer. It's a different time from Washington's day. 'The game became young and it got to the point where we don't want to hurt nobody's feelings,' he said. 'I don't remember (longtime big-league manager) Gene Mauch giving a (expletive) about hurting my feelings. … You didn't get the job done, then I'm letting you know you didn't get the job done. And if you don't want me screaming at you, guess what you better do? Get the job done!' It's a balancing act for sure. 'Some days are tougher than others. We always say that,' Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. 'We're going to play hard for 27 outs. There's gonna be days where Woody (22-year-old budding star James Wood) sometimes will run out a groundball because he knows he' got a chance to make it. There will be some days where he hits a 110-mph one-hopper where he doesn't go hard out of the box, and I can understand that.' Hustle, much like Chisholm's theory, remains complicated. 'Some of it is what you would call eyewash, and some of it's real,' Brewers manager Pat Murphy explained. 'Real hustle means staying present in the game and staying on the game, being relentless in pitch-to-pitch readiness. Sometimes you can't even see it. I can see it. 'Your mind's decided on something else. You're worried about your contract or you're worried about next year or you're worried about a .300 batting average versus .299. I look at that as kind of lack of proper focus, not necessarily not hustling, the actual physical hustle. I think these guys play their (butts) off.' The stare Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger learned the importance of hustle through a stare. He and his teammates growing up called it the 'Clay Stare.' It was the look from Bellinger's father, Clay, his longtime coach who helped instill the values of the game. 'You don't ever want the 'Clay Stare,'' Bellinger said. 'My dad was always like, 'Hey, run balls out. People are always watching.'' Bellinger's been benched in his career, like when he was with the Dodgers in 2018 and manager Dave Roberts sat him for not hustling on a double. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Hustle, I think, it's one of the few things in this game you can control,' Bellinger said. 'You can't control where you hit the ball. But you can always control hustle and energy.' ___ AP Baseball Writers Mike Fitzpatrick, David Brandt and Ronald Blum, AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee and AP freelance writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rays visit the Mets to start 3-game series
Tampa Bay Rays (36-32, third in the AL East) vs. New York Mets (45-24, first in the NL East) New York; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Taj Bradley (4-5, 4.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 66 strikeouts); Mets: Clay Holmes (7-3, 2.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 65 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mets -167, Rays +140; over/under is 8 runs BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday to open a three-game series. New York has gone 27-7 at home and 45-24 overall. The Mets have a 20-5 record in games when they hit at least two home runs. Tampa Bay has gone 13-12 in road games and 36-32 overall. The Rays have gone 13-4 in games when they hit at least two home runs. Friday's game is the first time these teams square off this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Pete Alonso has a .298 batting average to lead the Mets, and has 21 doubles, a triple and 17 home runs. Juan Soto is 13 for 35 with three home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games. Junior Caminero leads the Rays with 30 extra base hits (15 doubles and 15 home runs). Yandy Diaz is 15 for 39 with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 8-2, .260 batting average, 2.67 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs Rays: 6-4, .226 batting average, 3.60 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs INJURIES: Mets: Kodai Senga: day-to-day (hamstring), Brooks Raley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mark Vientos: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jesse Winker: 10-Day IL (side), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), A.J. Minter: 60-Day IL (lat), Frankie Montas: 60-Day IL (lat), Sean Manaea: 60-Day IL (oblique), Jose Siri: 10-Day IL (shin), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Smith: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christian Scott: 60-Day IL (elbow) Rays: Manuel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Kodai Senga leaves with hamstring strain as Mets hang on for 4-3 win to sweep Nats
NEW YORK (AP) — Kodai Senga threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings Thursday before leaving with a hamstring strain in the New York Mets' 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals that completed a three-game sweep. Senga (7-3) allowed one hit and one walk before getting hurt while making a leaping grab of Pete Alonso's high throw on CJ Abrams' grounder between first and second. Senga touched the bag with his right foot on the way down but stumbled upon landing and reached for the back of his right leg. He hopped a couple of steps before tumbling to the ground. After being surrounded by a trainer, his interpreter, manager Carlos Mendoza and teammates, Senga walked off the field under his own power. He lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.47, but will be placed on the injured list. Jeff McNeil stayed hot with a three-run homer in the first for the Mets, who have won six straight to improve to an MLB-best 45-24. Brandon Nimmo homered off the right field foul pole in the fifth. The Nationals snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak by rallying for three runs in the ninth, when Luis García Jr. and Josh Bell hit RBI singles and García scored on a wild pitch before Edwin Díaz got José Tena and Keibert Ruiz to ground out to earn his 15th save. Washington's Michael Soroka (3-4) gave up all four runs and struck out five in five innings. Key moment Díaz needed just two pitches to retire Tena and Ruiz following his run-scoring wild pitch. Key stat Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. McNeil was 4-of-11 with five RBIs during the series and is batting .316 with four homers and 10 RBIs this month. Up next The Mets continue a six-game homestand Friday when RHP Clay Holmes (7-3, 2.95 ERA) starts for the Mets in the opener of a three-game series against RHP Taj Bradley (4-5, 4.58 ERA) and the Tampa Bay Rays. LHP Mitchell Parker (4-6, 4.44 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Nationals, who return home to face the Miami Marlins and RHP Edward Cabrera (2-2, 3.99 ERA). ___ AP MLB:
