New York @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 21, 2015 ) NY Mets 7, Washington 2

The New York Mets have a chance to finish with a .500 mark on a six-game road trip against a pair of division leaders when they visit the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game set. New York scored more than five runs for only the second time in 17 games to level the series with a 7-2 victory Tuesday.

The Mets are two games behind first-place Washington in the National League East with a four-game series looming against a third straight division leader in the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York finally came up with some clutch hits, going 5-for-15 with runners in scoring position Tuesday after stumbling through a 4-for-72 stretch in such situations over the previous nine games. Catcher Wilson Ramos broke out of a 2-for-26 slump with a two-run blast for the Nationals, boosting his career average against the Mets to .340 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 45 games. Washington right-hander Jordan Zimmermann opposes rookie Noah Syndergaard in the series finale.

TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Noah Syndergaard (4-5, 3.05 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 3.27)

Syndergaard suffered his first defeat in more than five weeks despite limiting St. Louis to two runs and five hits over seven innings on Friday night. The 22-year-old Texan struck out a career-high 13 and yielded one run over eight innings in a victory over Arizona in his previous turn, capping a five-start unbeaten stretch in which he allowed seven earned runs. He's had his issues on the road, going 0-4 with a 4.73 ERA.

Zimmermann's last outing resulted in a no-decision after four innings when the stadium lights went out, but he remained unbeaten over his past five turns. He permitted a total of five runs while going 3-0 over his previous four starts and has not lost since a 5-0 setback versus Tampa Bay on June 17. Zimmermann beat the Mets with six innings of one-run ball in his season debut to improve to 8-5 with a 2.91 ERA against them.

WALK-OFFS

1. Mets RF Curtis Granderson is 9-for-27 with five runs scored during a six-game hitting streak.

2. Nationals CF Michael Taylor is 1-for-23 with 10 strikeouts over the past six games.

3. Mets RHP Bobby Parnell has not allowed a run in 12 of 13 appearances since returning from Tommy John surgery.

PREDICTION: Nationals 4, Mets 2