A.J. Burnett and the Phillies offense made their presence last night as they stomped over the Nationals 7-2 to even the series at one-a-piece. Burnett allowed a run over six innings en route to his second win. Behind home runs from Ryan Howard (3-run HR) and Cody Asche (solo HR) and RBI doubles from Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz, the Phils brought themselves back to .500 (14-14) on the year. This afternoon, they will go for the series win in the rubbermatch. Roberto Hernandez (1-1, 5.74 ERA), who is making a start for Cole Hamels (flu), will get the ball against Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 3.25 ERA).
Roberto Hernandez hasn't made a start since April 25th, against the D-backs. It was not a pretty start as he allowed four earned runs in six innings to take the loss. Since then, Hernandez has made one relief appearance (against the Mets on Tuesday). He recorded one out unscathed. With Cole Hamels missing today's start due to the flu, Hernandez will get a chance to give the Phils an above .500 record and a series win over their NL East rival Nats. In his career against the Nats, Hernandez is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA.
Gio Gonzalez is coming off of a no-decision start against the Astros on Tuesday. He allowed three runs on five hits through six innings along with striking out nine hitters. In 36 innings pitched over the course of six starts this season, Gonzalez has held opposing hitters to a .214 average. In his last three starts, Gonzalez is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He will look to give his team a series win in Philadelphia, a team he is familiar with. In his lifetime against the Phils, Gonazalez is 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA.
Game Notes:
- The Phillies are 97-70 against the Nationals since 2005.
- Cody Asche and Domonic Brown get the day off this afternoon.
- John Mayberry Jr. has two career home runs off of Gonzalez
Today's Lineups:
Phillies lineup:
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Carlos Ruiz C
- John Mayberry Jr. LF
- Jayson Nix 3B
- Roberto Hernandez P.
Nationals lineup:
- Denard Span CF
- Kevin Frandsen 3B
- Jayson Werth RF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Anthony Rendon 2B
- Ian Desmond SS
- Nate McClouth LF
- Sandy Leon C
- Gio Gonzalez P.
First Pitch: 3:05 PM ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Weather: 66° – Cloudy/Showers – 45% Precip
TV: CSN
Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
