Washington losing ground on Atlanta as All Star break approaches

The National East is beginning to look like a one team show, as the All Star game approaches. The Atlanta Braves have a five game advantage over the second place Washington Nationals and seven games over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals open a three game set against the New York Mets on Friday in New York.

The Mets are just 31-43 on the season and this would be an opportune time for the Nationals to win at least two and possibly all three games against the Mets. New York is 11 ½ game behind the first place Braves and are 6-4 over their past 10 games played.

Washington is currently 39-39 on the season and has won five of their past eleven overall. Looking at recent trends Washington is 6-13 over their past 19 games on the road. The UNDER is 6-2-1 for Washington pitcher Detwiler over the past 9 games played on grass.

For the Mets, the OVER is 26-22-2 over the past 39 games New York has played on Friday night. However, at home the Mets are just 24-49 in their past 73 games.

Head to head Washington is 13-3 over the past 16 games versus New York and 20-7 over the past 27.

Starting on the mound for Washington will be southpaw Ross Detwiler who is 2-6 on the season with an ERA of 4.18. Over this past three starts, Detwiler is 0-2 with an ERA of 8.59.

Starting for the Mets will be Matt Harvey. The right-handed Harvey is 7-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.05 and one of the few bright spots for New York this season. Over his past three starts, Harvey is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.80.

Overall, Washington has a team batting average of .231 and a team ERA of 3.59. The Mets have a batting average of .225 and a team ERA of 4.01.

Over their past ten games overall the Nationals are 5-5, while the OVER/UNDER is 4-5 in those same 10 games. New York in their last 10 games is 6-4 with the O/U 4-4.

Washington will be without the services of Bryce Harper who is on the 15-day disabled list from bursitis. Wilson Ramos will also be out due to a hamstring injury.

For New York, David Wright is questionable for the game but should play. Lucas Duda is out with a rib injury as is Justin Turner. Ruben Tejada is also on the DL with a quadriceps injury.

Head to head the teams split two games on June 4 and 5, while the Mets won 2 of 3 in Washington in last April. The teams have played those only five games head to head this season.

Washington needs to be more consistent and not lose touch with the Braves, while the Mets have to make a big turnaround before the All-Star break, if they hope to have any opportunity for postseason play.

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