New York Mets at Washington Nationals 8/3/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The New York Mets will look to continue their run toward the post-season when they go on the road to Nationals Park to take on the rebuilding Washington Nationals. The Nationals had most turbulent trade deadline, maybe ever, trading away Juan Soto and Josh Bell for prospects. Washington is 35-69 on the year, 31 games of the NL East, and has now entered a full rebuild. The Mets have won seven of their last ten and have held their lead in the NL East for nearly the entire season. Find out who else is playing at our MLB picks page.

The Mets are one of the better offenses in the MLB averaging 4.73 runs per game ranking fourth in the MLB. New York’s offense remained relatively unchanged at the deadline, but they still have all-star first baseman Pete Alonso who leads the team with 27 home runs and has driven in 86 runs on the year, ranking fifth and second in the MLB respectively.

The right-handed Chris Bassitt will get the ball for the Mets, he’s 7-7 on the year but has been a solid rotating arm for the contending Mets. Bassitt has a 3.83 ERA and 1.13 WHIP on the year, and has been very steady this season. He’s coming off one of his rougher outings of the last month, allowing four runs on six hits and striking out just two.

Washington is in a complete rebuild mode, especially so after one of the biggest trades in recent memory. Soto had led the team with 21 home runs, while first baseman Josh Bell led the team with 57 RBIs and hitting .301. The Nationals were already in the bottom of the league in scoring offense averaging just 3.81 runs per game, and its only get worse without Soto and Bell. 

The Nationals will send out the struggling Anibal Sanchez who is really starting to show signs of age this year. Sanchez has survived 15.2 innings in just three starts, he’s allowed five home runs, has a 7.47 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Sanchez has had a great career dating back to 2006, but as he entered the back half of his 30s, he’s posted 6+ ERAs in the last two seasons.