| SEASON | CAREER |
| W2 | 2 |
| L4 | 4 |
| G18 | 18 |
| IP56.2 | 56.0 |
| BB10 | 10 |
| SO33 | 33 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W15 | 53 |
| L6 | 38 |
| G24 | 119 |
| IP147.2 | 683.0 |
| BB56 | 320 |
| SO158 | 669 |
Gio Gonzalez is on the verge of matching his career high for wins in a season. He's also closing in on a piece of team history.
The left-hander can set a Washington Nationals record for single-season victories Sunday by defeating the visiting New York Mets .
Gonzalez (15-6, 3.29 ERA) has moved into position to tie his 16 victories from last season with Oakland by winning back-to-back starts. He gave up a two-run homer and five other hits over 6 2-3 innings Monday in San Francisco and got plenty of support in a 14-2 rout.
"I just tried to pound the strike zone," Gonzalez said.
A similar effort from his teammates would likely make Gonzalez the first Nationals pitcher to record 16 wins since the franchise relocated from Montreal before the 2005 season. Livan Hernandez was the only other Nationals player to earn 15 victories, doing it in 2005, and Javier Vazquez was the last man to win at least 16 games for the Expos in 2001.
Gonzalez is also seeking to match Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto and Tampa Bay's David Price for the major league lead in wins.
The NL East-leading Nationals (74-46) enter this game having won 21 of 28, but they were shut out for the first time this month Saturday. Washington had four singles and a double in a 2-0 defeat, while Ike Davis ' two-run homer helped the Mets (57-63) to their fourth win in 12 games.
New York has won only four of its last 18 against the Nationals.
"It's great to beat them. You always want to beat the best. And right now they're the best in the division," said Davis, who is 3 for 5 with a home run against Gonzalez this season.
If the Nationals have trouble scoring again, Gonzalez will need a performance more like his most recent matchup with the Mets than his only start against them at Nationals Park.
He yielded one unearned run and two hits over seven innings during a 5-2 victory at New York on July 24. That superb outing came five days after a 9-5 home loss to the Mets in which he gave up a season-high six runs over 3 1-3 innings, his shortest start in 2012.
On Sunday, he'll pitch opposite Jeremy Hefner (2-4, 4.76), whose first start since Aug. 4 will give New York a six-man rotation. The rookie right-hander is 2-3 with a 5.13 ERA in six starts this season and 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA in two against Washington.
"I've worked really hard to get to where I'm at now, not just this year but in my entire career," Hefner told the Mets' official website after beating San Diego in his most recent start. "I think it's just all my hard work, it's kind of paying off a little bit."
He gave up four runs over six innings during his only game at Nationals Park, a 5-3 loss June 6. Adam LaRoche hit a three-run homer off Hefner in the first inning.
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPSERAQSSOBBSVBSBAAWHIPE
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Jason Bay | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .167 | .167 | .000 |
| Ronny Cedeno | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| R.A. Dickey | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Lucas Duda | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Scott Hairston | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 1.000 | .667 |
| Ruben Tejada | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Andres Torres | 11 | .182 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .308 | .490 | .182 |
| Justin Turner | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
 New York Mets |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 02, 2012 | Tim Byrdak | 15-Day DL | Sore left shoulder |
| July 31, 2012 | Andres Torres | Day-to-Day | Strained right thumb |
| July 31, 2012 | Jason Bay | Day-to-Day | Bruised left calf |
| July 21, 2012 | Johan Santana | 15-Day DL | Sprained right ankle |
| July 21, 2012 | Johan Santana | 15-Day DL | Sprained right ankle |
| July 11, 2012 | Dillon Gee | Day-to-Day | Bloot clot in right shoulder |
 Washington Nationals |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 13, 2012 | Jayson Werth | Day-to-Day | Sore right ankle |
| August 05, 2012 | Mark DeRosa | 15-Day DL | Left abdominal strain |
| August 01, 2012 | Henry Rodriguez | 15-Day DL | Strained lower back |
| July 29, 2012 | Adam LaRoche | Day-to-Day | Left game - Back tightness |
| July 22, 2012 | Ian Desmond | 15-Day DL | Torn left oblique |
| July 22, 2012 | Ian Desmond | 15-Day DL | Torn left oblique |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Gio Gonzalez didn't need his best stuff against the New York Mets on Sunday.
What he had was good enough to get his 16th win, tying him for the major league lead and setting a Washington Nationals team record.
Gonzalez gave up seven hits and needed 110 pitches to get through 5 2-3 innings, but he didn't allow a run until the sixth and the Nationals got more than enough offense from Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa for Gonzalez to notch the victory in a 5-2 win against the New York Mets .
"That wasn't pretty, but it was a win," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "He did all right, but not to his standards."
Johnson said Gonzalez was leaving pitches up in the strike zone, and the manager thought his pitcher was affected by a 2 hour, 26 minute rain delay that pushed back the start of the game. Gonzalez did get his sixth hit of the season on a fourth-inning single.
"I told him, `Your hitting was better, but your pitching is going downhill,"' Johnson said.
Gonzalez (16-6) wouldn't admit to being troubled by the delay, despite giving up seven hits. He has won more games in a season than anyone else since the Nationals moved to Washington in 2005.
"It means a lot," he said. "This is a thank you to the bullpen, a thank you to the team, but we're not done yet. We've got to continue to keep playing and hopefully we stay that way and keep winning."
Harper had a home run and a triple, and Danny Espinosa also homered as the Nationals won for the third time in their past four games. Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect ninth for his 27th save in 31 chances.
Washington (75-46) has the best record in the majors and a five-game lead in the National League East over the Atlanta Braves , who lost 5-0 to the Dodgers on Sunday. The Nationals host the Braves in a three-game series starting Monday.
"It's going to be a lot of fun going into this series," Harper said. "Good for baseball, good for us and good for this town."
Jeremy Hefner (2-5) gave up five runs and eight hits as the Mets lost for the ninth time in 13 games.
"We're not exactly playing great right now," New York manager Terry Collins said.
Espinosa hit a two-run home run, his 14th, into the left-field visitors' bullpen to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Washington got another pair of runs with three straight hits an inning later. Jayson Werth led off with a single, Harper followed with a run-scoring triple and scored on Ryan Zimmerman 's single.
It was Harper's team-leading sixth triple, and the 19-year-old added another run when he led off the fifth with his 12th homer off the front of the upper deck in right-center field, extending Washington's lead to 5-0.
"I think he was trying to send a message to me, `Don't bench me,"' said Johnson, who held Harper out of the starting lineup Saturday. "He crushed that ball today."
The Mets got on the board in the sixth when Ike Davis led off with a double and scored on Jason Bay 's groundout.
New York was 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position, with the lone hit coming on Kelly Shoppach 's run-scoring single in the eighth.
"It's part of a pattern," Collins said. "We had a lot of guys on. We had plenty of opportunities, but just couldn't get a big hit when we needed it."
The Nationals took two of three from the Mets and are now looking forward to extending their lead against Atlanta.
"We have a great team, but the Braves have been playing unbelievable baseball as well," Espinosa said. "It's not going to be an easy three games, it's definitely going to be a dogfight with them."
NOTES: Shoppach, who was traded to New York from Boston last week denied that he had any part in text messages that reportedly undermined Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine . The New York Daily News reported that Shoppach sent text messages using the phone of Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez . "I wasn't behind any texts," Shoppach said. ... Mets IF Daniel Murphy was ejected after being called out on strikes as a pinch-hitter to end the eighth inning. ... Nationals SS Ian Desmond was in the starting lineup even though manager Davey Johnson had said Saturday he would give Desmond the day off. Desmond went 0 for 4. ... New York opens a four-game home series with Colorado on Monday. RHP R.A. Dickey (15-4) faces the Rockies' RHP Alex White (2-6). ... Washington RHP Jordan Zimmermann (9-7) will start Monday against Atlanta RHP Tim Hudson (12-4).
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New York Mets