It's the rubber match of a huge NL East showdown when the Nationals and Mets collide at Citi Field for the third and final game of their series Thursday night.
Washington will look for its second straight victory and to push its lead in the NL East to 2.5 games over its third place opponent. New York, meanwhile, will look to tie Philadelphia by pulling to within a half-game back of its NL East foe.
The Mets took Game 1 of this series, 2-0, on solo homers by Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto on Tuesday, while the Nationals bounced back with a 7-1 drubbing of their adversary Wednesday on the strength of 10 walks.
All of the Mets runs this series have come on solo homers as Yoenis Cespedes cracked one in the bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday. Washington then scored six unanswered runs.
Cespedes ranks first in the MLB in slugging percentage (.656) and homers (13, tied), while he is also tied for third with 33 RBIs.
Daniel Murphy drove in a pair of runs for his first RBIs against his former team for the Nationals on Wednesday, while Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon also had two RBIs. Rendon drove in the two go-ahead runs with a two-out bases loaded single in the top of the fifth inning to answer Cespedes' long ball and break a 1-1 tie.
Murphy leads the majors with a .397 batting average and ranks second in the league with 58 hits.
Thursday's matchup will be a marquee one on the mound as Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95 ERA) takes the ball for the Nationals and Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.95) mans the mound for the Mets.
Strasburg is the first Nationals pitcher to get off to a 6-0 start in franchise history, while Harvey is trying to turn his season around after an uncharacteristically bad start.
Strasburg, who signed a seven-year, $175 million contract with Washington last week, is 4-3 with a 2.78 ERA against the Mets in 10 career starts against them. Harvey is 3-3 against the Nationals through 10 starts with a dazzling 1.77 ERA.
Bryce Harper leads the MLB with 45 walks and a .455 on-base percentage, but he's 0-for-20 in his career against Harvey.
Game Details & Live Stream
Matchup: Nationals (24-16) at Mets (22-17)
Venue: Citi Field, Flushing, Queens, N.Y.
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Radio: Washington (106.7 The Fan); New York (WOR 710)
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds for this game can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here (with subscription, subject to blackout).
