The set-up: The Washington Nationals visit Citi Field to play the NY Mets in a three-game series starting Friday night, Unlike last year, the NL East is not up for grabs as September begins. The 78-55 Nationals lead the 69-65 second-place Mets (69-65) by 9 1/2 games and have already made plans for playoff baseball come October. The Nationals/Montreal Expos franchise has not won a playoff series since 1981, the longest drought in the "big four" sports. Is this the year that steak ends? However, it's first things first. The Mets won't catch the Nats but they are just two games behind the Cards in the race for the second wild card in the NL

The pitching matchup: A.J. Cole (0-1, 4.97 ERA) takes the mound for the Nats, opposed by the Mets' Noah Syndergaard (12-7, 2.55 ERA). This marks Cole's third start of the season (he made three appearances, including one start in 2015) and his first career appearance against the Mets. He owns a 4.97 ERA in 12 2/3 innings but opponents are hitting just .191 against him. Syndergaard has taken over the role of ace in 2016 for the Mets and seems to be getting stronger as he continues to pitch through a bone spur in his elbow. He's won three straight starts while posting a 1.31 ERA.

The pick: Syndergaard's 2,55 ERA ranks third in the NL and it's 2.49 in 15 home starts. The Mets will play with urgency in this series and I expect Syndergaard to help lead them to a win in this first game. The Mets are an 8* play.