Phillies at Nationals
Led by what has been the best pitching staff in baseball thus far, Washington has given itself an early lead in what was expected to be a tight National League East race. The Nationals have put defending division champ Philadelphia in an early hole, winning the first two games of this weekend’s series to build a 5 1/2-game lead over the Phillies.
Washington still has one of the more sluggish lineups in the league, but it upgraded its pitching rotation in the offseason by acquiring Gio Gonzalez - who pitched seven solid innings for the win Saturday - and Edwin Jackson. The Phillies, who already boast one of the best pitching staffs in the game, have struggled almost as badly as the Nationals on offense, scoring one run or fewer nine times this season.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.78 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 1.89 ERA)
Hamels was a tough-luck loser in his first outing, but he has turned in four straight quality starts - all of which Philadelphia won. The left-hander has had excellent control, walking just five while striking out 36 in 32 1/3 innings this season. Hamels is 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 20 career starts against the Nationals.
Zimmermann hasn’t gotten much run support this season, earning just one win despite yielding one earned run in each of his first four starts. He faltered somewhat in his last trip to the mound, a loss on Tuesday to Arizona. He allowed four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. Zimmermann will be looking for his first win against the Phillies, having gone 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three prior starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Nationals have allowed just nine homers, eight fewer than any other team in the major leagues.
2. Hamels has 136 strikeouts in 129 1/3 career innings against Washington. Excluding injured 3B Ryan Zimmerman, current Nationals are 23-for-111 (.207) against him.
3. Though the Phillies owned baseball’s best record (102-60) last season, the Nationals have been the better team lately, winning 32 of their last 45 compared with Philadelphia’s 19-26 mark over that same amount of games.