While nobody will mistake them for a contender, the Phillies hardly looked like the team that won the first two games of this series against Washington in last night's 11-0 debacle, surrendering more runs in a four-inning stretch than they had all series so far. It's just been that kind of season for the ever-frustrating Phillies, though they are in a good position to end their seven game road trip on a high note as they send Cole Hamels to the mound looking for a series win against Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals.
Hamels (6-5) is coming off one of his best starts of the season, a dominating start against the Mets in a 6-0 win last Monday. He struck out eight over eight innings, allowing no runs on just six hits, and finished July with a 4-1 record and 1.94 ERA in six starts over 41.2 innings. Monday's win was the first time since June 26 that the Phillies scored more than three runs in a game started by Hamels. In their last meeting on July 12, Hamels pitched more effectively than Strasburg, allowing three runs over seven innings, but was saddled with a no-decision as the Nationals rallied off Jake Diekman for two runs in the tenth inning for the win.
Washington will look to their young fireballer to help salvage a split of the series after a strong start by Jordan Zimmerman in Saturday's game. Strasburg (7-9) has lost each of his last three starts and is winless in his last five overall, despite an adequate 3.65 ERA during that span. Strasburg allowed just two runs with nine strikeouts in his last game against Philadelphia, but threw 111 pitches before being removed after 5.2 innings.
Game Notes:
- The Nationals could use a win today, as they are just 2.5 games ahead of second-place Atlanta in the NL East standings. The Braves are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, and have three more to play on their current eight-game road trip before starting a three game series with Washington this Friday.
- So far this series, the Phillies bullpen has logged 13.2 innings, or about 4.1 innings per game, due to the early departures of their starters in two of the three games. Hamels has gone seven innings in 14 of his 19 starts this season, so the hope is that he can eat some innings to give the bullpen a bit of a breather.
- Ryan Howard has struggled all season, but he's been particularly bad on the Phillies' current road trip. He has just one hit in his last 21 at-bats away from home, and has gone just 4-for-29 (.137 BA) overall since being benched for three straight games towards the end of July.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Grady Sizemore LF
- Wil Nieves C
- Cody Asche 3B
- Cole Hamels P
Nationals Lineup
- Denard Span CF
- Anthony Rendon 3B
- Jayson Werth RF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Scott Hairston LF
- Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
- Jose Lobaton C
- Stephen Strasburg P
Location: Nationals Park, Washington DC
Weather: 81°F – Cloudy – 40% PoP
Game Time: 1:35 PM Eastern
