Philadelphia Phillies look for fourth straight win over Washington Nationals

Sep 3, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (26) tosses the ball to first with his glove for an out in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have been impressive lately with series wins over the Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.

They also swept the Washington Nationals in a three-game series the last time the two teams met.  Friday night Stephen Strasburg looks to put his first-place team even farther ahead of the last-place Phillies.

Strasburg, the National League leader in strikeouts with 210, brings an 11-10 record and a 3.49 ERA into Friday’s matchup.  In 25.2 innings against Philadelphia this season, the right-hander has given up nine runs with just four of them being earned.  In four starts against the Phillies Strasburg is 2-0 while walking just four batters and striking out 35.  The 2014 Phillies roster has a combined seven extra-base hits lifetime against the Nationals’ ace.

In four starts with the Philadelphia Phillies, Jerome Williams has not allowed more than five hits or two earned runs in any of them.  Williams looks to win his fourth straight decision Friday night.  The 32-year-old also spent time with the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers this season, spending significant time coming out of the bullpen.  He has recorded two outs against Washington this season, both strikeouts.  Against National League teams he’s only pitched 16 innings in 2014.  In a lifetime combination of 23 at bats the Nationals have seven of both hits and strikeouts against Williams.

Maikel Franco gets the start at third base over Cody Asche on Friday.  The recent call up is searching for his first big-league hit.  Franco drove in a run off a sacrifice fly against the Braves in his first game with the Phillies.

This is the last series of the season between these two teams.  Both teams have won eight and the Phillies are 7-3 in their last ten games.

Phillies lineup:

Revere CF

Rollins SS

Utley 2B

Howard 1B

Byrd RF

Brown LF

Ruiz C

Franco 3B

Williams P

Nationals lineup:

Span CF

Rendon 3B

Werth RF

LaRoche 1B

Desmond SS

Harper LF

Ramos C

Cabrera 2B

Strasburg P