NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have changed a lot in the eight days since they were swept by the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C. But the Nationals hope the result remains the same during a four-game series this weekend in New York.The series pitting the top two teams in the National League East begins Thursday night, when the suddenly scorching Mets host the first-place Nationals at Citi Field.The Nationals remained four games ahead of the Mets by virtue of a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, New York beat the Miami Marlins 4-2.The Nationals lead was six games on June 29, the day they capped the sweep of the Mets. At that time, it seemed as if the final series before the All-Star break might present an opportunity for Washington to bury the defending NL champions.But the Mets responded to the three straight losses by authoring a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs and then taking two of three from the Miami Marlins. New York outscored the Cubs and Marlins 46-24 in the last seven games -- a stunning turnaround for a team that scored just 47 runs in 15 games from June 14 through June 29.I said it a lot in the Cubs series: Coming into that series without playing well, (it was) really, really important to have a good series against them, and we did, Mets manager Terry Collins said Wednesday afternoon. (The) Marlins, for all the years Ive been here, play us tougher than any team we play, I think.Now weve got to go against the Nationals, who are going to come in here looking to put some more distance between us. So weve got our work cut out for us this weekend.So do the Nationals, who went 3-3 between series against the Mets despite playing two NL Central non-contenders in the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.I always want to go into the All-Star break hot and come out hot, Nationals manager Dusty Baker told reporters Wednesday.Nationals right fielder and reigning NL Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper put his inimitable succinct spin on the weekend.How many games are we up on them? Four? Harper told reporters Wednesday. We could either be tied or up eight. Its plain and simple.Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon is scheduled to start Thursdays opener against Nationals right-hander Lucas Giolito in perhaps the most distinct old vs. young battle of the season.Colon is the oldest player in baseball at 43 and has 483 starts under his belt, most among active players. He has been pitching so long that his first appearance against the Nationals franchise came in 2002, when the team was still the Montreal Expos. Colon is 4-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Nationals/Expos.The 21-year-old Giolito. meanwhile, is the seventh-youngest player in the majors and has made just one career start. He threw four shutout innings against the Mets in an appearance cut short by a rain delay on June 28. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Cheap Jerseys From China . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. http://www.wholesalejerseys.info/ . 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On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance.Haseeb Hameed says his Test debut for England was a surreal experience but one he thoroughly enjoyed as the first Test against India in Rajkot ended in a draw. Hameed hit a classy 82 in Englands second innings to help set-up a final-day victory push; the tourists ending four wickets short of a win.I really enjoyed it out there, said Hameed. I was quite nervous in the first innings, but second time around I tried to just think of it as any other game. There was a challenge in front of us to try and set up the game, and thankfully it went all right.I felt more comfortable the longer I spent out in the middle, and I tried not to think about myself as an individual, but about what the team wanted and required me to do. Alec Stewart and James Taylor analyse Hameeds debut performance for England Id be lying if I said I wasnt disappointed to miss out on a century. But it was tougher to score freely this morning; it was turning a bit more, and the ball was reversing.It was another challenge, and Im confident every single experience I have on this tour will make me a better player.Ive seen a picture of the moment when I went through to my fifty and my dad was quite emotional, which is understandable.As proud and as happy as I am, I am sure they are just as proud and happy. Everything I experience, I think they experience tenfold more. A roundup of the action as England looked to force a victory over India on day five of the first Test in Rajkot Alastair Cook was giving a masterclass to me and the England under-19s 12 months ago, and he mentioned to me, who would have thought a year on wed be stood together in the middle for England?Its quite surreal how quickly everything has happened, but Im trying to take it all in my stride.ddddddddddddCook (130) did himself go on to three figures, notching a 30th Test ton, and fifth in India, but it was his 19-year-old opening partner who he was full of praise for.It was a brilliant knock, absolutely fantastic, said Cook. Weve certainly found a batsman there, no doubt about it. We hear from captains Alastair Cook and Virat Kohli after the drawn first Test in Rajkot I already thought he looked the real deal in the first innings, but then to go and play like that in the second was brilliant.We were batting under pressure in that second innings, and the way Hameed played helped hugely in our efforts to win the game today.We wanted to set them a score that they couldnt get so that the only two chances of a result were us to win or a draw. Right at the end though they just held on. India vs England November 17, 2016, 3:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Watch live coverage from the second Test between India and England, from 3.30am on Thursday on Sky Sports 2 HD. Also See: India hold off England charge WATCH: Day Five highlights Scorecard Five things: Rajkot ' ' '