Let's take a look at the projected pitching matchups for the series against the New York Mets.

Tuesday, August 10, RHP Paolo Espino (3-3, 3.66 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 3.24 ERA) | First Pitch: 7:10 pm

First up at Citi Field for the Nationals is the “secret weapon” Paolo Espino who is coming off of a rough outing against the Phillies on August 4th. In that outing, Espino gave up six runs after not giving up more than three in five July starts. Espino has only faced the Mets once this season, pitching one relief inning on April 24th in a 7-1 Nationals victory.

In his career, Espino has faced the Mets three times for a total of 8.0 innings pitched giving up only six hits, two walks, and no runs.

The first pitcher for the Mets is Carlos Carrasco who owns a 3.24 ERA this season in only two games this season. Carrasco made his debut in 2009 and has only pitched against Washington twice in his career totaling 7.0 innings with an ERA of 5.14.

The game can be seen on MASN and heard on 106.7, the Fan.

Wednesday, August 11, RHP Joe Ross (5-9, 4.02 ERA) vs. LHP Rich Hill (6-4, 3.92 ERA) | First Pitch: 7:10 pm

Our second game on Wednesday will feature 28-year-old Joe Ross against 41-year-old Rich Hill. Ross is coming off of a solid outing against Philadelphia where he pitched 6.1 innings on only 84 pitches and giving up three runs. Ross has had a semi-inconsistent season but has provided the Nationals with a decent back-end starter who shows signs of improvement.

In his career against the Mets, Ross has a 5.58 ERA in 14 appearances that equals out to 59.2 innings. He has 10 starts in those 14 appearances with a record of 3-5.

One of the oldest players in baseball takes the mound against Ross in Rich Hill Wednesday night and he is sporting a 3.92 ERA over 22 starts this season. Hill has seen mixed results over his last six starts but has only given up 2.33 runs per game. Hill has not pitched past five innings since his last start of June either, going five or less in six straight games. Hill has faced Washington eight times in his career and has an ERA of 4.41.

Thursday, August 12 RHP Erick Fedde (4-8, 5.15 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (7-4, 2.83 ERA) | First Pitch: 12:10 pm

The day game of the series before heading back to DC will feature Erick Fedde and his 5.15 ERA against Marcus Stroman. Fedde has shown flashes of being a solid pitcher but seems to revert right back to poor form. His last outing was in Atlanta where he only pitched 4.2 innings and gave up four earned runs. Fedde has faced the Mets twice this season and has a 2.25 ERA. His second game saw him pitch seven innings of no-run baseball for a 1-0 Nationals win.

Marcus Stroman takes the mound for the final game for New York for only the second time this season against Washington. His first outing saw him only pitch four innings and give up four earned runs. Overall, Stroman has had a good season but his ERA has started creeping upwards just slightly since the beginning of July. That being said, the most earned runs he has given up in that time is four just one time. In his career, he has only faced the Nationals twice and holds a 7.20 ERA against them.

Series Notes: New York Mets

• After losing 8 of their last 10, the Mets now sit 2.5 games out of first place in the NL East.
• Slugger Pete Alonso leads the Mets in Home runs, RBI, and OBP.
• Star players Jacob deGrom, Javy Baez, and Francisco Lindor remain on the IL for the Mets.
• With DeGrom sidelined, Stroman now leads the Mets in innings and is tied for the most quality starts with deGrom.