By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Washington D.C.- The Philadelphia Phillies will look to earn a split in their series with the Washington Nationals this afternoon in the nation's capitol.
The two teams have split the first two games of the series, with Philadelphia taking game one 4-1 and Washington walking off in game two, 5-4. On Saturday night, despite a strong outing from Jerad Eickhoff, the Nationals won 3-0 thanks to a late-inning homer from Bryce Harper.
This afternoon, Adam Morgan has the opportunity to put together another good outing since rejoining the rotation. He'll be opposed by Gio Gonzalez.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (63-79) | Washington Nationals (84-59) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Adam Morgan | LHP | Gio Gonzalez | ||
| (2-9, 5.90 ERA) | (10-9, 4.40 ERA) | ||||
Since coming back to the rotation in mid-August, Morgan has held his own very well. The 26-year-old southpaw has made six starts since rejoining the big league club, and has allowed two runs or less in five of those outings. He'll face a Nationals team that he saw recently on August 31. Morgan allowed two runs over 6.2 innings the Phillies 2-1 loss to Washington. His most recent start came against the Marlins, where he spun six innings of one-run ball to earn his first win since May 10.
Gio Gonzalez was the pitcher that opposed Morgan back on August 31, getting the win after tossing six innings allowing just one run on two hits. He couldn't duplicate that success in his latest start though, as he allowed six runs on eight hits in three innings against the Braves on September 6. He has a 1.40 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this season.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (63-79) |
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | |||||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Trea Turner | R | |||
| 2 | CF | Roman Quinn | S | 2 | LF | Jayson Werth | R | |||
| 3 | 3B | Andres Blanco | S | 3 | 2B | Daniel Murphy | L | |||
| 4 | LF | Darin Ruf | R | 4 | RF | Bryce Harper | L | |||
| 5 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 5 | 3B | Anthony Rendon | R | |||
| 6 | C | A.J. Ellis | R | 6 | C | Wilson Ramos | R | |||
| 7 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 7 | 1B | Ryan Zimmerman | R | |||
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | SS | Danny Espinosa | S | |||
| 9 | P | Adam Morgan | L | 9 | P | Gio Gonzalez | R | |||
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 1210 WPHT
Game Notes:
- Roman Quinn will make his Major League debut today. He hit .287 with 14 doubles, six triples, six homers, 25 RBIs, 58 runs scored and 36 steals this season with Reading.
- Sunday afternoon marks the final time the Phillies and Nationals meet this season. Washington leads the series 13-5.
- Over the 18 games played between the two teams, Washington's pitching staff has a 2.27 ERA.
- Freddy Galvis is 9-for-33 with two home runs off of Gio Gonzalez. Darin Ruf is the only other Phillie with a home run against him.
- Daniel Murphy is 0-for-9 against Adam Morgan while Bryce Harper is 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
- Double-A Reading's season came to a close last night, exiting the playoffs after a 3-2 loss to the Trenton Thunder. With their 2016 campaign concluded, the Phillies called up prospects Jorge Alfaro and Roman Quinn on Sunday morning.
- The Nationals magic number to clinch the National League East is now at 12 after Saturday's win paired with a Mets loss.
What's Next:
- Monday, Setpember 12th, 2016: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 3.90 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (7-9, 3.55 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP
