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Believe it or not, the Mets actually won a game in Cincinnati! Unfortunately, that was all they were able to do. After scoring six runs in the series opener, the offense went silent for the final two games, scoring twice in the victory and nothing in the finale. Now, New York heads to DC for its second matchup of 2023 against the Nationals.

The first matchup wasn’t all that great. Washington took two of three, and if it wasn’t for some late-game heroics in the finale, New York would’ve gotten swept. the Mets’ probable pitchers still haven’t officially been announced, but we’re going to take some guesses here. Once things are official, we’ll adjust as necessary.

Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET: Tylor Megill vs. MacKenzie Gore

Tylor Megill was great over his first three starts, posting a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings. His last five starts haven’t been as good, evidenced by a 6.05 ERA across 19.1 innings. Megill has completed six innings once so far in 2023, and those middle innings seem to be a big stumbling block for him right now.

MacKenzie Gore owns a 3.65 ERA over his first seven starts. He’ll be facing the Mets for the second time this year. His first appearance came at Citi Field, silencing the bats while allowing one run on four hits, two walks, and 10 strikeouts in six innings.

Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET: Joey Lucchesi vs. Trevor Williams

Joey Lucchesi’s season debut in San Francisco was an incredible return to the mound after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. It hasn’t been as smooth since. He struck out nine over seven innings against the Giants. That’s been followed by eight strikeouts over his most recent 13.1 innings. He’ll also look to last longer than four innings in this appearance, something he hasn’t done in his last two turns through the rotation.

Trevor Williams started the series finale in the first matchup between the Mets and Nationals at Citi Field. New York knocked him around in five innings, scoring four runs on nine hits (one home run) and two walks.

Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET: TBD vs. Jake Irvin

New York’s probable starter for Sunday will hopefully be Max Scherzer, who is working through neck spasms.

Jake Irvin will enter this game with just 10.2 MLB innings under his belt, and they’ve gone pretty well. He’s 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA after facing the Cubs and then the Giants. Before getting the call from Triple-A Rochester, the hurler had produced a 5.64 ERA through 22.1 innings of work.

Monday at 4:05 p.m. ET David Peterson vs. Patrick Corbin

After just one start in Triple-A, David Peterson was recalled while the Mets were in Cincinnati because Scherzer got scratched from his scheduled start. That appearance went how most of his others have gone this year: not well. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings. Peterson has a 2.93 lifetime ERA against the Nationals, but that number was 5.73 in 11 innings last season.

Patrick Corbin has a 4.87 ERA through eight starts, but he’s progressively gotten better after a rough beginning. The southpaw had an 8.00 ERA through two starts, and he’s lowered it in each outing since. New York has typically performed well against the Nationals’ hurler. In five starts against the Mets last year, he went 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA and 1.62 WHIP.

You can reach Matt Musico at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.

Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.