Matt Harvey is one of the best young pitchers in baseball. But Gio Gonalez is the hotter pitcher, Washington has the stronger offense and the Mets are caught in a horrendous situation.

Let's start with the spot. The Mets are traveling after playing 18 innings, nearly six hours, in humid St. Louis yesterday. Their bullpen went more than 10 innings and their is a high fatigue level through the entire roster. The Mets are particularly vulnerable at catcher.

Gonzalez is pitching his finest ball of the season going 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his last three starts. Gonzalez has been much better at home where he's 4-1 with a 2.44 ERA at Nationals Park this season. He is 8-4 lifetime against the Mets with a 2.87 ERA.

The Nationals are 9-3 in Gonzalez's past 12 starts versus the Mets. Washington also is 8-1 during Gonzalez's last nine starts at Nationals Park against foes with a winning record.

The Mets rank last in the majors in batting average and are second from the bottom in runs and OPS.

Harvey is 3-4 with a 3.22 ERA on the road this year as he continues to work his way back from last year's Tommy John surgery. New York has won only once during Harvey's last six road starts.

The Mets have dropped 20 of their past 30 road contests and are 4-13 in their last 17 road matchups when taking on a foe with a winning home mark.