2026-09-27
Manaea gives the Mets enough against Herz's 9.00 ERA — the Mets win Sunday at Nationals Park.
DJ Herz carries a 9.00 ERA into Sunday's start at Nationals Park, and on balance the Mets win this one — Manaea gives them enough to hold a shaky rotation piece accountable. Sean Manaea (4.67 ERA, 141 strikeouts this season) takes the mound Sunday against a Washington arm who has been one of the most hittable starters either team has faced in this final stretch. The Mets lineup that produced the 7-1 away win over Washington Nationals on Saturday featured Juan Soto (27 home runs, 68 RBI) and Francisco Lindor (20 home runs) at the top of the order alongside Ronny Mauricio, who per Mets Merized Online homered twice in that game. Against Herz's current ERA, the lineup's .705 OPS on the season reads conservatively — a figure that could move given the matchup. The Washington side does carry genuine threats: CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Daylen Lile form the core Manaea will work around, and the Nationals' .742 OPS this season sits above New York's. Manaea's 141 strikeouts reflect a workload deep into a 161-game sample; the question Sunday is whether his late-season arm holds its shape against a lineup with that kind of contact quality. What would change this read: Herz settling into an uncharacteristic groove, or Manaea's late-game workload forcing early bullpen exposure against a Nationals offense that runs at 5.1 runs per game.