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WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals begin their final homestand of the season Thursday night when they host the New York Mets.They’ll play seven games over seven days against the Mets and Marlins Dallas Keuchel Jersey , but the stakes are much lower than in previous years. They won’t be clinching a playoff berth or setting a rotation or auditioning players for a post-season roster spot.Washington (77-75) sits seven games behind the Braves in the National League East and 6 1/2 behind the Cardinals for the second wild card. A best-case scenario would seem to be staving off mathematical elimination until they end the season with three road games in Colorado.Article continues below ...The homestand may be the last for All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper, a free-agent in the offseason.“I haven’t really thought about it,” Harper told the Washington Post. “I think it’ll really hit that last game I guess, running off the field or something like that. I’m just trying to enjoy it and see what happens.”After a rough first half, Harper enters the final 10 games hitting .247 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs. He has never driven in 100 runs.The Mets (70-82) long ago became a non-factor in 2018 and are already looking ahead to next season when they could boast arguably the best starting rotation in the East.On Wednesday, they announced they were shutting down right-hander Zack Wheeler (12-7, 3.31 ERA) for the remainder of the season, with Corey Oswalt taking his place in the rotation.Wheeler http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , who didn’t pitch in the majors in 2015 and 2016, had a shortened 2017. This season he’s gone 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA over his last 11 starts but has pitched almost 100 more innings than a year ago.“We’re really excited about the year he had, and we feel like we’d probably be taking the best care of him we can if we shut him down at this point,” manager Mickey Callaway told mlb.com.Left-hander Jason Vargas (6-9, 6.47 ERA) starts Thursday’s opener for the Mets.Vargas has also enjoyed a strong finish. His ERA was in double digits back in May and after an Aug. 7 loss it was 8.75 to go along with a 2-8 record. He’s given up two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, including last time out when he beat the Marlins, allowing two runs over six innings.Vargas is 1-3 with a 0.83 ERA, in six games (three starts) against Washington.Right-hander Max Scherzer (17-7 Lance McCullers Jersey , 2.53 ERA) starts for Washington. Scherzer has 277 strikeouts coming in and needs eight to top his career high of 284, set in 2016. He has 16 double-digit strikeout games on the season.In his last start, Scherzer was roughed up by the Braves, giving up six runs on seven hits over four innings, his shortest start of the season as he seeks a third straight NL Cy Young Award.“I just couldn’t get into a rhythm where I knew where those balls were actually going to end up. I couldn’t control my misses,” Scherzer told the Washington Post. “I was pitching out of the stretch so much. I never found a rhythm out of the windup to be able to take it to the stretch to be able to execute clean innings.”Scherer is 9-4 with a 2.34 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) against the Mets. HOUSTON — The Astros on Saturday added outfielder Myles Straw to the big-league roster with one primary objective: to utilize his exceptional speed on the basepaths as a pinch-runner.He may have the opportunity to continue doing that Sunday, when Houston hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of their three-game series.Over 131 games across two levels in the minors, Straw posted 70 stolen bases and an 88.6 percent success rate. He produced 35 steals apiece for Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno.Article continues below ...“Speed is the most obvious thing that he adds Mike Scott Jersey ,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “You get into the type of (pennant) race that we’re in, you get into playoff-caliber baseball, any small advantage can be a big advantage. He’s an elite baserunner. His instincts are good, he’s a good outfielder. “His second half hasn’t gone as well as his first half offensively. We’re not going to ask a ton out of him playing-wise other than be an elite baserunner when we need it the most.”By limiting his responsibilities, the Astros (93-55), who evened the interleague set with a 10-4 victory Saturday, believe Straw can adjust quickly.“We’re literally asking him to take his best skill set on the bases and apply it to the major league level,” Hinch said of Straw Alex Bregman Jersey , who pinch-ran in the seventh inning. “One of the reasons we feel comfortable with him in these last couple weeks is his instincts. And certainly, he’ll be a little bit nervous the first couple times out but we’re asking him to focus on one thing primarily, and that can ease a little bit of that stress that comes with getting into the big leagues.”Right-hander Justin Verlander (15-9, 2.72 ERA) will start the series finale for the Astros. Verlander has posted 10 double-digit strikeout games this season and is 11 strikeouts shy of matching his single-season high of 269 set in 2009 with the Detroit Tigers.He is 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA over four career starts against Arizona, including a 3-1 loss on May 6 at Chase Field when he surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over six innings. Verlander is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 14 innings this month.The Diamondbacks (78-71) will counter with right-hander Zack Greinke (14-9, 3.11 ERA). Greinke is 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA over his last 11 road starts and 5-4 with a 2.43 ERA in his last 11 interleague starts.He is 6-2 with a 2.24 ERA over 10 career starts against the Astros. He did not factor into the decision May 5 when he allowed one run on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 victory at Chase Field.Arizona on Saturday selected right-hander Randall Delgado from Triple-A Reno and placed right-hander Clay Buchholz on the 60-day disabled list (right elbow flexor strain). Delgado appeared in six games for the Diamondbacks this season, going 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA before being designated for assignment July 25, released six days later http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , and re-signed to a minor league contract Aug. 18. He posted a 0.93 ERA over five games with Reno after his signing before finishing with a 2.00 ERA in 13 contests.“We’re all super excited to have him back,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We need an arm and he had been keeping himself in shape and talking about going to winter ball.“We know what Randall is all about. Stuff-wise he was trending toward the Randall that we remember at the end of the minor league season so he’s going to get the ball. My expectations are that we’re going to use him in different situations, maybe not high-leverage right now, but different situations to stop momentum and get big outs for us.”The Diamondbacks are four games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 3 1/2 back of Colorado for the final NL wild-card spot.