Nationals (73-45) vs. Mets (56-62)
Game » 119
Starters » Ross Detwiler (6-5, 3.18 ERA) vs. Johan Santana (6-8, 4.58 ERA)
When » Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Where » Nationals Park, Washington
TV » MASN HD
Radio » 106.7 The Fan FM, WFED 1500, WHFS 1580
Nationals manager Davey Johnson is in the midst of setting his rotation for the postseason. He wouldn’t exactly put it this way, but it’s clear he wants to split left-handed pitchers Ross Detwiler and Gio Gonzalez as soon as possible. Thursday’s off day cleared the way for that. Detwiler was flipped with Edwin Jackson and will now go on Friday night in the series opener against the Mets. Jackson will pitch on Saturday. No word yet on when Gonzalez will pitch – though it would make sense to have Jordan Zimmermann go on normal rest Sunday and hold Gonzalez for Monday to face the left-handed heavy Braves lineup. For now Johnson is still listing Gonzalez as Sunday’s starter against New York.
Washington is 9-3 against the Mets this season, including a three-game sweep at Nationals Park on July 23, 24 and 25. Tough to figure what to expect from New York ace lefty Johan Santana, who has been a disaster his last four starts since June 30 with 27 earned runs allowed in 14 innings.
Johnson was all smiles before the game in part because he has his entire lineup for the first time maybe all season with the return of shortstop Ian Desmond from the disabled list. He immediately moves into the lineup with Danny Espinosa shifting over to second base and the red-hot Steve Lombardozzi returning to a super-utility role. The Nats are, of course, still without catcher Wilson Ramos, who tore his ACL in May and won’t be back until next spring so they’ll never be fully healthy. Doubt many teams are crying for the. Here are the lineups for Game 1.
Mets
SS – Ruben Tejada
CF – Andres Torres
3B – David Wright
RF – Scott Hairston
1B – Daniel Murphy
2B – Ronny Cedeno
LF – Jason Bay-LF
C – Kelly Shoppach
LHP – Johan Santana
Nats
RF – Jayson Werth
CF – Bryce Harper
3B – Ryan Zimmerman
LF – Michael Morse
1B – Adam LaRoche
SS – Ian Desmond
2B – Danny Espinosa
C – Kurt Suszuki
LHP – Ross Detwiler
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