Mets Vs. Nationals: Chris Young Makes Citi Field Debut, Looks For Second Win Of Season

The New York Mets (4-4) will try to win their second game in a row -- and their second series of the season -- against the Washington Nationals (3-5) this afternoon at Citi Field (1:10 p.m. EST). Taking the mound this afternoon will be Chris Young for the Amazin's and Jason Marquis for the Nats.

Young is coming off a win in solid seven-strikeout performance in five innings against the Phillies, but receives the nod against a less deadly Nationals lineup in a much more favorable ballpark. Young gets his chance to utilize the skills in his home ballpark that enticed the Mets front office to sign him in the first place. Because of a unique arm angle that's about as tall as the Empire State Building he's able to strikeout a good amount of people, despite subpar velocity and he doesn't give up a lot of hits for the type of stuff he has, either. Young is a fly ball pitcher in every aspect of the description and it's the spacious confines of Citi Field that Sandy Alderson and Co. believe will behoove the 6-10 right-hander, just like San Diego's Petco Park did. Young is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA against the Nationals in his career.

Like Young, Marquis is not an overpowering pitcher, but he doesn't have anything out of the ordinary to fool hitters (and his 5.2 strikeouts per nine innings ratio shows that). He can eat up innings, but he's a pitcher that the Mets should take advantage of pretty easily. For his career he has give up over a hit per inning (9.3 per nine innings). There almost couldn't be a better pitcher (who has mediocre stuff) to fuel an offense (that's been playing pretty well) than Marquis. If Young can keep the team in the game, the hitters should provide enough support in this game to propel the Mets to victory.