Every time Jacob deGrom takes the mound these days, it seems like he’s going to do something spectacular -- and perhaps even historic.

The Mets ace’s next outing comes tonight at 7:10 ET at Citi Field against the Nationals, and it will serve as MLB.TV’s Free Game of the Day, giving fans across the country a golden opportunity to see what deGrom can do. (Blackout restrictions apply, although live audio still will be available through MLB.TV in local markets.)

• Stream the game here

His last time out, at the hitter’s paradise that is Coors Field, deGrom became the ninth pitcher in MLB history to strike out nine straight batters. He came up one K shy of tying the 51-year-old MLB record held by none other than Mets legend Tom Seaver. Now the question is: What does deGrom have in store for tonight?

Here is a breakdown of some key things to know before tonight’s MLB.TV stream.

How they’re doing
Nationals (7-9, 5th in NL East)
Mets (7-7, T-1st in NL East)

It’s been a bumpy season for both teams, whose season-opening series in Washington was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Mets have since seen four more games wiped out due to bad weather and have played the fewest games of any team. Meanwhile, the Nats have several players on the injured list, including Juan Soto, Stephen Strasburg and Jon Lester (who has yet to make his Nats debut).

The matchup on the mound
Nationals -- Erick Fedde (1-1, 5.56 ERA in three starts)
Mets -- Jacob deGrom (1-1, 0.45 ERA in three starts)

In Fedde’s last start, he held the D-backs to one run over five innings while tying a career high with nine strikeouts. But the Nats’ 2014 first-round pick (No. 18 overall) will not be the main attraction in this one. That will be the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner pitching for the Mets. Since 2018, deGrom owns a 2.03 ERA over 79 starts, although somehow his team has only gone 37-42 in those games.

The player to watch
In one of the biggest moves of the offseason, the Mets pulled off a trade with Cleveland for shortstop Francisco Lindor and then signed him to a massive contract extension just before Opening Day. Expectations are high for the 27-year-old switch-hitter, a four-time All-Star who has been one of the game’s best players since debuting in 2015.

It’s been a slow start in a Mets uniform for Lindor, albeit in a tiny sample thus far. But he went 3-for-4 with his first Mets home run on Wednesday at Wrigley Field, a sign that things could be thawing. If they are, watch out.

Don’t forget him
Nationals fans could make a compelling case that -- even with Lindor’s arrival -- the best shortstop in the NL East resides in D.C. That would be Trea Turner. Turner’s calling card has always been his elite speed, and when he turns on the jets, it’s fun to watch. But did you know that since 2019, Turner is outslugging every MLB shortstop except Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story?

Picture this
deGrom is a marvel, and not just because of his results. There’s also the fact that his velocity just keeps going up … and up … and up. That’s not supposed to happen, especially when you’re into your 30s. Last season, MLB.com’s Matt Kelly wrote about how deGrom’s velocity increase since 2016 was unprecedented. Well, guess what? It’s up again in 2021, from 98.6 mph to 98.9 mph, even with some chilly April conditions.

Number of note
Since his rookie year in 2014, deGrom has pitched at least six innings and allowed no more than two earned runs 122 times. In 59 of those starts (48.4%), deGrom was not credited with a win. In that span, no other pitcher has started more than 47 games in which he reached those criteria without notching a “W.” As a point of comparison, Clayton Kershaw has 117 such starts since 2014 but has won 87 of them (74.3%).