Photo: Philliedelphia/Steve Trapani
The Phillies are back on the losing road. Having lost three straight games, the Phillies will turn to Roy Halladay to break them out of this new skid. The Phillies finally won a game for Halladay after going 0-5 in five straight starts. Tonight they'll look to keep up the run support and let Doc do what he does best.
Roy Halladay (4-3, 3.22 ERA) will be making his tenth start of the season as well as his first start against the Nats this season. In Halladay's last start, he tossed 8 strong innings, allowing three earned on seven hits while striking out a very uncharacteristic four Cubs. The bats pulled through for Doc, scoring 8 runs that gave Doc his first win since April 16. He sure as Hell deserved it and tonight he'll seek another win as he takes on a team that he has shown dominance towards in his career. In over 110 career innings, Halladay has a 11-1 record and a 2.28 ERA.
Opposing Halladay and the rest of the Phils will be the twenty-six year-old Jordan Zimmermann (2-4, 2.58 ERA). Zimmermann, who will turn 27 tomorrow, is making his 9th start of the season tonight. In Zimmermann's last outing, he tossed six innings against the Pirates, yielding four earned on seven hits in the losing effort. Zimmermann pitched against the Phillies on May 6, allowing three earned on seven hits over six innings. The Phillies won that game 9-3 riding Cole Hamels. In his career, Zimmermann has an 0-3 record and a 6.00 ERA against the Phillies.
Let's face it, the Phillies played pathetic baseball last night. The base running was attrocious and they only managed one run. All in all they left a total 21 men on base, Hunter Pence accounted for 7 of those runners. I don't exactly have the stat, but I can almost guarantee Hunter Pence leads the team in men LOB (Left On Base) while the Phillies rank high among the totals of men LOB.
The Phillies have a strong history against Zimmermann and they can hit him. We'll hope that they can score when they hit him tonight. The Phils will be without Jimmy Rollins for tonight and possibly the next few days as he has been placed on the paternity list.
Tonight's lineup vs Washington:
- Pierre LF
- Polanco 3B
- Victorino CF
- Pence RF
- Ruiz C
- Luna 1B
- Galvis SS
- Fontenot 2B
- Halladay P
TV: CSN ; Radio: 1210 WPHT 94 WIP
Follow Erik on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
