New York Mets

Hellickson to start home opener for Washington against New York

Published May. 14, 2019 3:23 a.m. ET

New York Mets (19-20, third in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (16-24, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Noah Syndergaard (2-3, 5.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 54 strikeouts) Nationals: Jeremy Hellickson (2-1, 5.52 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 26 strikeouts)

LINE: Mets favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE:

The Nationals are 8-9 against teams from the NL East. Washington ranks last in the National League in hitting with a .236 batting average. Anthony Rendon leads the club with an average of .305.

The Mets are 13-8 against the rest of their division. New York has slugged .402 this season. Pete Alonso leads the team with a .590 slugging percentage, including 21 extra-base hits and 12 home runs. This is the first game between these teams in 2019.

TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto leads the Nationals with 23 RBIs and is batting .243. Adam Eaton has 10 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Washington.

Alonso leads the Mets with 12 home runs and has 32 RBIs. Michael Conforto is 9-for-31 with a double, two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 3-7, .196 batting average, 4.66 ERA, outscored by 20 runs

Mets: 4-6, .224 batting average, 2.48 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs

Nationals Injuries: Austen Williams: 10-day IL (shoulder), Tony Sipp: 10-day IL (oblique), Trevor Rosenthal: 10-day IL (infection), Koda Glover: 60-day IL (forearm), Andrew Stevenson: 10-day IL (back), Ryan Zimmerman: 10-day IL (foot), Trea Turner: 10-day IL (finger), Howie Kendrick: day-to-day (neck stiffness), Matt Adams: 10-day IL (shoulder).

Mets Injuries: Justin Wilson: 10-day IL (elbow), Jason Vargas: 10-day IL (hamstring), Drew Smith: 60-day IL (elbow), Steven Matz: 10-day IL (forearm), Jeurys Familia: 10-day IL (shoulder), Luis Avilan: 10-day IL (elbow), Yoenis Cespedes: 60-day IL (heels), Jed Lowrie: 10-day IL (knee).