This past week for the Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) has been filled with nothing but disappointment for fans, and surely themselves.
At first, things looked bright for the team, having won three of their first five games of the season to go over .500 for the first time since May 4, 2014. Last Saturday evening against Doug Fister and the Washington Nationals (5-6), center fielder Odubel Herrera picked up his first major league hit, a walk-off double in the bottom of the tenth against right hander Tanner Roark.
Since then, however, the Phillies have fallen in six consecutive games, three each against the Washington Nationals (one home, two away) and the New York Mets. Over that stretch, they have been outscored by their opposition, 32 runs to 13, and have struck out 51 times. Phillies' first baseman Ryan Howard, who was recently demoted to seventh in the batting order, has contributed to nearly one-fifth of that strikeout total, 17.6%.
Play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy noted in the conclusion of Friday evening's 7-2 defeat, the last time the Phillies started (3-8) in a season was in 2007, the starting point of their recent, five-year window of success. As things currently stand, is difficult to believe the Phillies will have similar success in 2015 as they did eight seasons ago. Perhaps today's matinee will be the start of a turn-around for the still young campaign.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) | Washington Nationals (5-6) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Harang | RHP | Jordan Zimmermann | ||
| (1-1, 0.73 ERA) | (1-1, 8.64 ERA) | ||||
The right pitcher is on the mound for the Phillies this afternoon, as they seek to snap their longest losing streak since dropping six straight from May 31 to June 5 of last season. 14-year veteran Aaron Harang will take the mound in his third game as a Phillie, and 14th overall in his career against the Expos/Nationals franchise where he is 3-5 with a 3.05 ERA in 76.2 innings.
Harang has been extremely effective for the Phillies thus far, having allowed just one earned run over 12.1 innings. 133 of his 202 total pitches over two starts (65.8%) have been thrown for strikes. In addition, he has allowed just six hits (two extra-base), and three walks over 46 faced batters.
Opposing Harang, 36, will be 28-year-old right hander Jordan Zimmermann. Ironically, Zimmermann has 13 career starts against his opposition as well, with similar numbers as Harang to his credit: 6-6 record with a 3.48 ERA over 77.2 innings.
While effective in his first start of the season on April 8 against the Mets, Zimmermann's most recent start at Fenway Park on April 13, was one to forget. In just 2.1 innings of work, he allowed eight runs (seven earned). This was his shortest start since last season on April 9, 2014, when he allowed five earned runs over 1.2 innings, at home against the Miami Marlins.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (3-8) | Washington Nationals (5-6) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 1 | CF | Michael Taylor | R |
| 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 2 | SS | Ian Desmond | R |
| 3 | 2B | Chase Utley | L | 3 | RF | Bryce Harper | L |
| 4 | RF | Jeff Francoeur | R | 4 | 1B | Ryan Zimmerman | R |
| 5 | 3B | Cody Asche | L | 5 | LF | Clint Robinson | L |
| 6 | LF | Darin Ruf | R | 6 | 2B | Dan Uggla | R |
| 7 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 7 | 3B | Danny Espinosa | S |
| 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 8 | C | Jose Lobaton | S |
| 9 | P | Aaron Harang | R | 9 | P | Jordan Zimmermann | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 1:05 pm EST
- TV: CSN, MLBN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Sunday, April 19, 2015: at Washington Nationals, 1:35 pm
- RHP David Buchanan (0-2, 11.42 ERA) vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLBN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
