Mets and National highlight a week of stellar match-up across MLB

The MLB All-Star Game is behind us and the dog days of summer are fully upon the 2015 Major League Baseball season, separating the men from the boys and setting the story lines for October into motion. Every win is a big and teams need to take advantage of the match-ups in front of them, either to stay on top or to pick up what ground they can down the stretch.

As such, our partners at Sports Illustrated and ScoreBig have highlighted a few of the best match-ups of the week, highlighting each series that will have the most resounding impact on the standings, the trade deadline, or the record books. Every game is meaningful at this juncture of the season, but these particular series highlight what baseball is all about as we steam past the midway point and toward the excitement of fall baseball.

Kicking us off is a tilt in the nation’s capital between the first place Washington Nationals and the second place New York Mets. This is an important series for the Mets, who enter play on Monday night trailing the Nats by 2.0 games in the National League East and a sweep would give them back sole possession of first place in the division. Additionally, the series promises to be a battleground between two of the top rotations in baseball. New York, who ranks 6th in starters WAR at 9.9 and 7th in ERA, will bring the trio of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard to the mound. They’ll be met by a Nationals staff that will send Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman to the hill, sandwiched around a starter still to be determined for Tuesday night. That third starter won’t be Max Scherzer, who pitched on Sunday, but we’re guaranteed that Washington will throw another member of their staff that has a 10.9 starters’ WAR (2nd) and a 3.70 ERA (10th).

Complimenting the outstanding series in Washington will be another solid match-up of outstanding pitching, albeit one with different make-ups. The Pittsburgh Pirates will bring their dominating starting staff to Kauffman Stadium to face off against the Kansas City Royals and their lights out bullpen. Pittsburgh is still just 4.5 games out of first place in the National League Central and are looking to right the ship after getting manhandled by the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ll send A.J. Burnett, Gerrit Cole, and Charlie Morton to the bump to fend off Yordano Ventura, Jason Vargas, and an unabled starter for Wednesday. The Royals currently have a six-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the A.L. Central and if they can get to the Pirates starters early, they can turn the game over to their trio of Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland to slam the door shut.

If these two series don’t get your baseball juices pumping, there is always the Twins and Angels with playoff aspirations on the line. There is the Battle of the Bay with the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants butting heads.

Perhaps stellar match-ups aren’t necessarily your cup of tea. Maybe you’re looking for something with a bit more to chew on.

How about a little bit of deadline intrigue? Cole Hamels may be making his final start in a Phillies uniform when Philadelphia takes on the Chicago Cubs on July 25th. It may be the last time the Phillies have to showcase their ace for an MLB Trade Deadline deal. Of course, that all depends on whether or not Hamels isn’t moved before then.

Then again, maybe you’re more intrigued by the run that Zack Greinke is currently on. The Dodgers starter has thrown 43.2 consecutive scoreless innings and will put his streak on the line against the offensive anemic Mets on Friday July 24th. Greinke’s already has his way with New York during the scoreless streak, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball against the Mets on the 4th of July and is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts against the Mets over the course of his career.

Needless to say, there is plenty of baseball to get excited about this week. No matter what angle you want to take or what you are looking for, there is a little bit of something for everyone.

(h/t Sports Illustrated)

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