Phillies looking to recover from blowout, take series behind Hamels
The Philadelphia Phillies were blown out last night in D.C. by a score of 11-0. Starter A.J. Burnet lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up 5 runs before being tossed out for arguing strike calls with home plate umpire Chris Guccioni. Phillippe Aumont came in to pitch and the rest is history. Eventually surrendering to an 11 run loss, with Burnett moving to 6-11 and Zimmerman to 7-5.
This afternoon the Phillies will turn to Cole Hamels, who despite trade rumours and speculation is still in a Phillies uniform. In his last outing Hamels pitched 8 innings of scoreless ball, giving up just 6 hits on July 29th against the New York Mets. Cole is 6-5 on the season with a 2.55 ERA over 19 starts, and in July he went 4-1, and has an ERA of 1.77 over his last 10 starts stretching back to June 11th.
The Phillies will face off against Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, who is 7-9 this season with a 3.55 ERA over 23 starts. He has continued his form from last season, in which he went 8-9 with an ERA of 3.00, of being decent but not the ace for years he was promised to be. In his last start against the Miami Marlins on July 29th he gave up 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings, which followed a shaky outing against Colorado on July 23rd in which he was roughed for 4 runs on 9 hits through 5.1.
Ryan Howard starts at 1st again for the Phillies, and he will be looking to end a three-game hitless streak, and improve on the 1 hit he has managed in his last six games. His season average is down to .218, and his frustrating knack for leaving runners on base in clutch situations is one he needs to correct.
Wil Nieves gets the start at catcher against Strasburg, hitting .288 on the season through 18 games and 66 at-bats. He hit .416 in 12 at-bats through July, collecting 5 hits, and he will bat 7 tonight.
Bryce Harper will get a rest today; he’s played in every game since the All-Star game and has hit .300 in that period. Scott Hairston will hold down the fort in left field for this afternoon’s game.
The Nationals are currently 11.5 games ahead of the Phillies in 1st in the NL East, and 2.5 games up on the second place Braves who have lost 5 straight.
Starting Lineups 8/3:
Phillies
1. Revere 2. Rollins 3. Utley 4. Howard 5. Byrd 6. Sizemore 7. Nieves 8. Asche 9. Hamels
Nationals
1. Span 2. Rendon 3. Werth 4. LaRoche 5. Desmond 6. Hairston 7. Cabrera 8. Lobaton 9. Strasburg