New York Mets vs Washington Nationals Prediction & Match Preview - April 5th | MLB Spring Training 2022

On Tuesday, April 5, the New York Mets will travel to West Palm Beach, Florida, to take on the Washington Nationals in the final game of the 2022 Spring Training season.

As both teams are members of the National League East, these teams will face each other many times this season, and both will be eager to set the stage for the season ahead.

The match will take place at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is the shared Spring Training home of both the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros.

Match Details

Fixture: New York Mets vs Washington Nationals

Date & Time: Tuesday, April 5, 12:05 p.m. EDT

Venue: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, Florida

New York Mets Preview

The New York Mets have had some ill fortunes overshadow the start of their season. Most notably, starting pitcher Jacob deGrom has been sidelined for at least a month with shoulder stress. This comes as the Mets biggest off-season signing, Max Scherzer, is day-to-day with hamstring tightness. The two pitchers were meant to carry the staff for the Mets this season, and now it is questionable if either will be ready for Opening Day.

The Mets are currently 7-6 during Spring Training and hope to keep their Grapefruit League record above .500 as they depart Florida on Wednesday.

"Chris Bassitt on the injuries to Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer: "It is what it is. That's baseball. The old saying is, 'if you don't like what's going on, give it a week and then everything's changed. We'll be perfectly fine." - @ SNY

New York Mets Key Player - Francisco Lindor

Francisco "Mr. Smile" Lindor had a lot to smile about in his pre-season. The shortstop has hit the ball in one-third of his plate appearances. With four home runs and 11 RBIs in over 30 at-bats, the Mets star has put his team on his shoulders.

In his first season with the Mets in 2021, Lindor knew he could have made a bigger mark with the Mets. He batted only .230 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs. Although these numbers don't represent a subpar performance, Lindor hit 38 home runs and 92 RBIs in 2018.

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican will be looking to carry forward his plate success to the regular season, especially after signing a 10-year, $341 million contract with the New York club earlier this year.

"They call him Mr. Smile for a reason." - @ New York Mets

New York Mets Predicted Lineup

1. CF Brandon Nimmo
2. RF Starling Marte
3. SS Francisco Lindor
4. 1B Pete Alonso
5. 3B Eduardo Escobar
6. DH Robinson Cano
7. LF Mark Canha
8. 2B Jeff McNeil
9. C Tyler Nido

Washington Nationals Preview

Sitting at a dead-last 3-10 record, this spring has shaped up to be one that Stephen Strasbourg and the rest of the Washington Nationals would rather forget. Perhaps a silver lining is that Nationals management has gotten a look at some of the younger AAA Rochester Red Wings prospects. However, with a combined team average of just .231, the Nats can only hope that things will change once the games start to matter.

Key Player - Dee Strange-Gordon

For most of his career, Strange-Gordon has been drifting from team to team, often finding himself playing in the minors. But what the 33-year-old has is speed, and lots of it. He led the MLB in total stolen bases throughout the last decade, including a league-leading 60 stolen bases for the Miami Marlins in 2015.

Strange-Gordon, on a minor league contract with the Mets, has looked more like his former self. So far, he has four stolen bases and 13 hits with the Nats in 29 at-bats. He can also play various positions around the field.

Dee Strange-Gordon may find himself the ignition the Washington Nationals need on the basepath this season.

Washington Nationals Predicted Lineup

1. 2B Cesar Hernandez
2. LF Juan Soto
3. DH Nelson Cruz
4. 1B Josh Bell
5. C Keibert Ruiz
6. SS Alcides Escobar
7. 3B Maikel Franco
8. LF Dee Strange-Gordon
9. CF Victor Robles

New York Mets vs Washington Nationals Predicition

The game will be a preview of Opening Day, as these teams are slated to meet again then. Both teams finished miles behind the Atlanta Braves in the pennant race for the National League East last year. Although Washington could be an entirely different animal when the games begin to matter, they simply have not put together a commendable showing thus far in the pre-season. Our prediction: Mets. 6-1.

Nelson Cruz will try and advance the Nationals playoff hopes

Where to watch the Washington Nationals and New York Mets

New York Mets

TV: SNY TV

Livestream: MLB.TV

Washington Nationals

TV: MASN 2

Livestream: MLB.TV

Both teams play in an exceptionally difficult division, with the Braves looking just as poised to claim the pennant as they did last year. Both will have to set things off on the right foot if they want any sort of chance of their own.