The Phillies had a good chance at winning last night's series opener with the Nationals, but it didn't happen due to their imploding bullpen. Cliff Lee got the start against Stephen Strasburg and the Nats last night, going 7 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. He struck out five and walked two, but it wasn't enough for his fourth win of the year. Mike Adams came on in the 8th inning and allowed three runs on three hits and did not record an out. The Phils fell 5-3 to the Nats in their first game of the year.
The Phils will send out A.J. Burnett (1-1, 2.15 ERA) to the mound today against the Nationals and Tanner Roark (2-0, 2.76 ERA) in the second game of this series.
A.J. Burnett has been a stud over his last three starts, owning a 0.85 ERA in that 21 2/3 inning span. His last time out, against the D-backs on Sunday, proved to be his first win of the year. Burnett went eight shut out innings, allowing five hits and striking out 8. Preventing a D-back sweep, Burnett continued his strong performance on the mound despite pitching with an inguinal hernia. In his career against the Nationals, Burnett is 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA and 110 strike outs.
Tanner Roark is coming off of the best start of his career, a complete game shut out against the Padres last Saturday. Roark allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out eight. Roark will pitch tonight's game on one week's rest, and he will try to use that to his advantage. In his last three starts, Roark has allowed just three runs over 22 innings. Roark has never made a start against the Phillies, but does have two scoreless innings of relief under his belt against them.
Game Notes:
- The Phillies went 13-13 in April, their first time the Phillies finished .500 or better in the first month of the season since they went 18-8 in 2011.
- In 10 at bats against Burnett, shortstop Ian Desmond has just one hit.
- Out of the Phillies lineup, Roark has only faced Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Wil Nieves, and Cody Asche.
Tonight's Lineups:
Phillies lineup:
- Tony Gwynn Jr. CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Cody Asche 3B
- A.J. Burnett P.
Nationals lineup:
- Denard Span CF
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Jayson Werth RF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Danny Espinosa 2B
- Nate McClouth LF
- Jose Lobaton C
- Tanner Roark P.
First Pitch: 7:05 PM ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA.
Weather: 66° – Few Showers – 30% Precip
TV: CSN
Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP.
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
