Tonight, the Washington Nationals will kick off their last series for the 2026 season as the New York Mets come to town. Scheduled to take the mound for the Washington Nationals is left handed pitcher Andrew Alvarez who has a 2-6 record and an ERA of 3.17 entering tonight’s game.

Andrew Alvarez will face the New York Mets for the 3rd time this season. Alvarez has pitched to a 3.72 ERA (4 ER/9.2IP) against the Mets this year and earned his first career save (4.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 SO) against them on May 20.

Washington Nationals 75 wins this season are its most since 2019 (93 wins).

For the New York Mets they are scheduled to send left handed pitcher Jefry Yan who has a 2-1 record and a 4.34 ERA entering tonight’s game.

The Nationals are 4-6 against the Mets in 2026, going 2-2 in Washington and 2-4 in New York. They have lost the last four meetings, though the season series remains close on the scoreboard: New York has outscored Washington 55-52.

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Follow along for the latest lineups, pitching matchups, roster news, notes, stats, and more throughout the weekend.

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On Deck…

Tomorrow afternoon, the Washington Nationals will play game two of three against the New York Mets with the first pitch at 4:05 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are planning on sending right handed pitcher Jake Irvin to the mound who has a 2-9 record and an a 5.40 ERA entering the game on Saturday.

Irvin will face the New York Mets for the third time this season, and he has allowed three runs or less in each of his last five starts.

The New York Mets are scheduled to send right handed pitcher Jonah Tong who has a 2-2 record and a 4.21 ERA entering Saturday’s game.

In the hole…

On Sunday, the Washington Nationals will wrap up the 2026 season with the first pitch at 3:05 p.m. EDT. Here are the probable pitching matchups for the last game of the 2026 season.

James Wood is one walk away from a milestone that would put him in rare company. With 30 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 99 walks through 132 games, the Nationals outfielder needs one more free pass to become the first player in Major League history to reach 30 homers, 20 steals and 100 walks in a season of fewer than 140 games. He would be just the 10th player to reach those three marks in a season of any length.

The significance goes beyond the round numbers. Home runs show Wood’s power, stolen bases show what he can do once he reaches base, and 100 walks would underscore how often he gets there without needing a hit. Combining all three in fewer than 140 games would make his season especially unusual: He missed time with a left oblique strain but has remained a threat to change a game at the plate and on the bases.

The group he is poised to join spans generations of stars, from Jimmy Wynn and Mike Schmidt to Barry Bonds, Jeff Bagwell, Bobby Abreu, Chipper Jones, Paul Goldschmidt, Shohei Ohtani and former National Juan Soto. For Wood, that company would offer another measure of the breadth of his offensive game—not just how hard he hits the ball, but how many ways he puts pressure on opponents.

With three games remaining, the Nationals have scored 807 runs and allowed 798, giving them a plus-9 run differential. That is a sharp turnaround from 2025, when they were outscored by 212 runs (687 scored, 899 allowed).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Washington’s 221-run improvement is the largest season-to-season gain in Nationals history, dating to 2005. It ranks second in MLB this season, behind only Colorado’s 236-run improvement.

The progress shows up in the standings, too. Washington has nine more wins than it recorded in 2025, tied for the sixth-largest improvement in the majors. Only the White Sox (22 more wins), Rays (19), Braves (17), Rockies (14) and Pirates (10) have made larger gains.

James Wood went 0-for-4 with an RBI in his most recent game, Sept. 23 at Detroit. Despite missing 27 games while on the injured list from Aug. 4 to Sept. 2, he enters the final stretch of the season with 30 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 104 runs scored and 99 walks.

Wood ranks third in MLB in runs scored and third in the National League in on-base percentage (.385), OPS (.890) and walks. He leads the majors in average exit velocity (95.3 mph) and is tied for third with 63 barrels. His 10 leadoff home runs are a Nationals single-season record, and he reached 100 runs scored in his 112th game—the fastest any Washington player has done so since the franchise began play in D.C. in 2005.

The two-time All-Star has also supplied some of Washington’s most memorable moments this season. On May 19 against the Mets, he hit his first career grand slam—an inside-the-park drive that was just the second inside-the-park grand slam in Nationals history. On April 6 against St. Louis, he robbed a home run in the second inning before hitting a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth.

Wood was voted the Nationals’ 2025 Player of the Year by the D.C. media and earned National League Player of the Week honors twice this season, on April 13 and July 13.

“Notes from the Washington Nationals Dugout” compiles key game notes, recent performances and notable milestones from across the roster.

Below is a quick snapshot of standout trends and individual highlights during the current stretch.

Left-hander Andrew Alvarez enters his start against the New York Mets on a strong run. He matched his career high with eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 19 at Busch Stadium. He has now thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings across his last two starts, the sixth-longest active streak among MLB starters.

September has been his best month yet. Among National League rookies with at least 15 innings pitched, Alvarez leads with a 1.56 ERA (three earned runs in 17⅓ innings), 10.90 strikeouts per nine innings and a .230 opponents’ slugging percentage. He ranks second in opponents’ batting average (.162) and on-base percentage (.250). Dating to his Aug. 30 start, his 1.16 ERA over four starts ranks second in the majors.

The success extends beyond September. In his last 10 appearances, including nine starts, Alvarez has a 2.14 ERA over 54⅔ innings and has held opponents to a .172 batting average. Since July 27, he ranks first in the National League in opponents’ slugging percentage (.260) and OPS (.524).

His curveball has been particularly effective: Batters are hitting .164 against it, with six extra-base hits in 146 at-bats. Alvarez has recorded 68 strikeouts with the pitch, more than with any other offering.

Alvarez is set to make his fourth career start against the Mets. He has a 5.54 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13 innings against New York.