Series Preview: Nationals at Phillies

Unsurprisingly, the Washington Nationals (40-33) sit solidly atop the NL East with the reeling New York Mets having fallen 3.5 games back. The Nats have been playing phenomenally, and are on 6-game win streak. During this stretch, they have only allowed 5 runs. TheNats pitching is on fire right now and shows no signs of letting up.

To top it all off, Washington got both of their injured starters in Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister back last week to bring their rotation back to full strength. The Phillies will miss Fister, who went yesterday and performed admirably (7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB). However, they will face Strasburg in his second start back on Sunday.

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The Nationals’ offense has been pretty solid during their streak as well. Their attack is led by MVP candidate rightfielder Bryce Harper (.340/.466/.719, 24 HR, 58 RBI), 3rd baseman Yunel Escobar (.322/.370/.411, 4 HR, 27 RBI), and centerfielder Denard Span (.301/.354/.435, 5 HR, 21, 8 SB).

Meanwhile, the Phillies (26-48) for once can say that they too are playing pretty good baseball. At least they were before losing on Wednesday, they’d won 3 in a row and scored 31 runs during that stretch. Not bad for one of the worst offenses in the league. Despite winning 3 of 4, the Phillies still have the worst record in the league.

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Aaron Harang (4-9, 3.41 ERA) v. Max Scherzer (8-5, 1.76 ERA) – After being one of the Phillies’ best starters to begin the season, Harang has returned to the same mediocre level of play he’s been at his whole career. He’ll do all he can to give the Phillies a chance to win, but will likely prove unsuccessful against a red-hot Scherzer. Mad Max is on another level right now. He is coming off both the no-hitter against the Pirates and a 1-hitter in Milwaukee the start before. In those 18 innings, he’s amassed 26 strikeouts. Everyone best be on no-hit watch again tonight because Scherzer is the hottest pitcher in the game.

Adam Morgan (1-0, 1.59 ERA) v. Gio Gonzalez (5-4, 4.41 ERA) – Morgan is coming off a very impressive debut (5.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 SO) and earned his first win at any level this year. Now that he’s gained some confidence, he could prove to be a breath of fresh air to rotation in need of some life. Gonzalez may have picked up some needed confidence himself with a great start against the Buccos on Sunday (7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO). Gonzalez hopes to build on that performance when he rolls into Philly on Saturday.

Kevin Correia (0-1, 4.30 ERA) v. Stephen Strasburg (4-5, 5.90 ERA) – Correia has quickly gone downhill since his tremendous Phils debut a few weeks ago. His latest outing was not very good (4 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) and is hopeful he can find the success he once enjoyed when he toes the rubber in the series finale. Strasburg returned from the DL on Tuesday to pitch a pretty good game (5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 SO). With reports of his fastball returning to dominance, there’s no telling what he’s capable of when he pitches on Sunday.

SERIES KEYS:  

Rotation must step up – The Phillies need their rotation to elevate themselves this series as they are set to go against some of the league’s most formidable pitchers. They’ll need to hold down the fort until the Phillies’ hitters are able to chase away Gonzalez or Strasburg. Scherzer seems unbreakable at this point. With the Nationals among the top of the league in runs scored, this may prove to be a tall task for the Phillies’ sub-par rotation, but they’ll need to do it if the club hopes to contend in this series.

Franco must stay hot – During the Phillies’ 3-game win streak, Maikel Franco was the catalyst that helped the team score 31 runs. He went 9 for 13, hit 3 bombs, and drove in 11 runs. That is some top-notch production from a kid ravenously climbing into the NL ROY conversation. Should the Phillies want to pick up few games in this series, they’ll need a lot of offensive production from their 3-hole hitter.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

Game 1: Friday, 7:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680AM

Game 2: Saturday, 3:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680AM

Game 3: Sunday, 1:35 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680AM

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE weekend forecast for Citizens Bank Park in South Philly

Tonight

Isolated showers before midnight, then a slight chance of showers after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday ALERT

Rain, mainly after 8am. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 75. East wind 9 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Saturday Night

Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 2am, then rain likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 67. Southeast wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Sunday

Scattered showers, mainly before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. West wind 8 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

INJURIES / DISABLED LIST