WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals have a nine-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East race.But that doesnt mean the three-game series between the two teams that begins Monday wont be important.Wed like to beat them, Washington manager Dusty Baker said after Sundays 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. We know they have to beat us. It should be a very interesting series.The Mets come to Washington with an eye on the National League wildcard while the Nationals hope to finish with the second-best record in the league and get a possible homefield advantage for the playoffs, perhaps against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Weve got to keep playing, Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters Sunday in Atlanta. We know we can play with (Washington) them. Theyve got a little bit of a pitching issue right now, similar to us. Weve just got to go in there and play. For its about winning games, I dont care who theyre against. You cant look at any particular thing, you just have to go in and win as many games as you can.New York will start right-hander Rafael Montero against the Nationals on Monday. He is 0-0 with a 4.63 ERA this season with New York. He was 8-9, 5.30 in the minor leagues this year with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas. He pitched 4 1/3 innings on Sept. 6 against the Reds and gave up three hits and four runs.Baker did not name a starter for Monday or Tuesday against the Mets but the Nationals twitter account late Sunday reported that veteran right-hander Mat Latos would start on Monday against the Mets, with A.J. Cole going on Tuesday and Tanner Roark pitching Wednesday.Latos pitched for Baker in Cincinnati in 2012 and 2013 and was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in six minor league starts in the Washington system this year. He signed with the Nationals as a minor league free agent on July 3 and is 1-0, 7.71 in two games for the Nationals this year.Latos was with the Chicago White Sox earlier this season -- he pitched against the Nationals one game -- and he was 6-2, 4.62 in 11 games in the American League this year before coming to Washington.Other options for the rest of the season for Washington include two rookie right-handers: Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.Gioloito made his big league debut against the Mets at home in June while Lopez lost 5-1 to the Mets on Sept. 4 in New York. Lopes has made six starts this year for the Nationals and Giolito has made four.Giolito, who began the year as one of the top pitching prospects in the minors, is 0-1, 5.59 in five games with Washington.There has been some concern about his velocity: he threw in the upper 90s last year but was clocked around 90 in his last outing Wednesday as he came out of bullpen in a game in which Strasburg left early.Lopez has shown a devastating curve at times and is 2-3, 5.52 in his time with the Nationals this year.Cole broke into the majors last year and beat the Mets on Sept. 2 in New York. Cole started at home on Thursday against the Phillies.Cole is 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA in four starts this year for Washington after spending most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse.New York had won eight of its past 11 games after downing the Braves on Sunday 10-3. Warren Sapp Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. 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Kevin Harvick, who hails from Bakersfield, Calif., is a tough man to beat on the mile oval in Phoenix -- the place he considers his home track.Hes also been difficult to keep out of Victory Lane when he needs a win to advance in the Chase, which is once again the case in the penultimate round of this years pursuit of the Sprint Cup.Last year, Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy team advanced to the finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a runner-up finish behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a rain-shortened race.It was his only loss at Phoenix since 2013. Its a remarkable record and Harvick could be forgiven if he doesnt add another trophy on Sunday. But even second place wont do this time around, because Harvick is too far back in the points after a poor performance in the Round of 8s first race at the Martinsville Speedway.Known for biding his time before charging to the front in NASCARs version of the rope-a-dope, Harvick at least doesnt have to worry much about rain relegating him to another second place. Last years cancellation of the last 93 scheduled laps is not likely to happen. It was the first occasion where rain had shortened a race in the desert since NASCARs premier series first raced at Phoenix in 1988.There was some moaning about the unfairness of calling such a crucial race early last year that sent NASCARs most popular driver into championship contention.Likewise, NASCAR was questioned by social media about the call to end the Texas race last weekend won by Carl Edwards, who along with Jimmie Johnson is locked in for Homestead after their wins. But why do things any differently than the usual way of producing a winner? The same practical reasons for not staying at a track for an unpredictably extended period of time always rule.Two drivers wouldnt be unhappy with a runner-up finish at Phoenix. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch can guarantee themselves a place among the final four Sprint Cup candidates with second place if they lead laps. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch must have a victory to guarantee a shot at the title in Florida.Ford and Team Penske seem to have finally found some speed, which bodes well for Logano. JGR driver Busch, meanwhile, appears to be imitating last years strategy of points racing in order to get a shot at winning in Homestead. Team owner Joe Gibbs, meanwhile, has three bullets left including Kenseth and Hamlin, and he hopes to get two of his Toyotas into the final running for the first time.Harvick is uncomfortably familiar with the come-from-behind role he finds himself in yet again. Four times in the last three years he has been on the verge of Chase elimination before posting a victory. Two of this seasons four victories have come during the Chase when he needed them the most. Its a fix in more ways than one.When you get in these situations, its fun to be able to succeed, Harvick said following his victory in New Hampshire in September. Its kind of like an addiction. You just love the russh of being able to be behind and be able to perform and make that happen.dddddddddddd Its something that is very gratifying.If Harvick has a secret at Phoenix, its being able to adjust to different track positions and to competitors who have raised their game. Any advantage his SHR team might bring to Phoenix can disappear overnight, he said.Thats the hardest thing about having success. You have to have an open mind to try new things to keep moving forward, Harvick said. If you dont have an open mind or are not willing to try a fresh approach, then it will get stagnant. Youre going to become stale and get left behind.Before his current stretch of six wins in his last eight Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix, Harvick won five times in the Camping World Truck Series. He also has a Xfinity Series victory on the desert mile. His over-all Sprint Cup statistics are off the chart. He has led 1,484 laps at Phoenix -- 18 percent of the total he has run -- and has posted 757 fastest laps.He swept both races in 2006, but Harvick really came on strong once the track was repaved and the backstretch was somewhat straightened in 2011.Although he has only one pole, Harvick prefers being close to the front. Theres always a dilemma about when to pit for tires and give up track position.Phoenix is a really flat racetrack where you want to have the freshest tires possible, but track position is really important, he said. A lot of what happens at Phoenix depends on the weather and how hot it is -- how much fall-off and how you have to manage track position throughout the day. The cooler the day is, the more you have to manage your track position. The hotter the day, the more you have to manage the fall-off. Better-handling cars will have a little easier time of getting through the field.It remains to be seen how a new rule announced by NASCAR for Phoenix will affect Harvicks SHR team as well as the other Chase contenders. In the eternal pursuit of trying to keep skewed cars in check, the sanctioning body circulated a new tech bulletin about how the truck trailing arms in the rear suspension are mounted to their brackets. Its a rule that will be carried over to 2017. The object of teams skewing their cars is to gain an advantage in the corners by picking up more aerodynamic sideforce.The new rule will present at least one new challenge for Harvick and his crew. The other challenge as always on a relatively short track will be contact from other drivers. Harvick has always seemed to know when to bang fenders and when to avoid contact that could cut a tire or possibly put his car into the wall. He won in the spring by banging into Edwards on the last lap coming to the checkered flag.Not surprisingly, Harvick believes the Phoenix track belongs to him until someone can prove otherwise. In the last four years, only the rain gods have beaten him. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '