Series Preview: Nationals at Phillies, August 9 – 11
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
For the second time in the post-Juan Soto era, the Phillies and Nationals will meet, but this time, the series has higher stakes—the Phillies are hanging on to the third Wild Card spot in the National league. The Nationals, meanwhile, have been eliminated from postseason contention but have been playing better baseball as of late.
In their last ten games, the Nationals have come away with six victories, mainly thanks to many of the Nats’ new rookies. C.J. Abrams has hit well since coming over from San Diego, and 30-year-old rookie Joey Meneses has a .328 average since being recalled from triple-A.
Last time they met
It hasn’t been a good season for the Nationals, and they have played especially poorly against the Phillies in 2022. When the two clubs met at the beginning of August, the Phillies completed the series sweep with a 13-1 win in the final game of four versus Washington.
In game one, Noah Syndergaard—who is also starting game one of this series—made his Phillies debut in a 5-4 Phillies win that was shortened by rain. Kyle Gibson followed Syndergaard’s outing by taking a perfect game into the seventh inning, and the Phillies’ offense scored 7 runs to back Gibson. The third game featured a six-run first inning that ultimately led to Patrick Corbin being pulled from the game after .2 innings.
The four Phillies wins in that series put them twelve games over the .500 mark.
A glance at the Standings
With a little under a month left in the season, nothing in the NL East or NL Wild Card has been decided. The Mets lead the Braves by a half game in the NL East, and the Brewers are just a slim 2.5 games behind the Phillies for the third Wild Card spot.
Both the Phillies and Brewers have an easy opponent over the weekend with the Reds in Milwaukee and the Nationals in Philadelphia, but the Braves and Blue Jays soon coming to Philadelphia will be a challenge the Phils must face if they want to maintain their lead in the Wild Card.
Pitching matchups
Game 1: Noah Syndergaard (RHP, 8-9, 4.07 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (LHP, 6-17, 6.28 ERA)
Game 2: Ranger Suarez (LHP, 8-5, 3.52 ERA) vs. Erick Fedde (RHP, 6-9, 5.08 ERA)
Game 3: Aaron Nola (RHP, 9-11, 3.35 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (RHP, 2-5, 4.56 ERA)
The numbers
- Run Differential:
- Phillies: 66
- Nationals: -199
- Runs Scored Per Game:
- Phillies: 4.68
- Nationals: 3.86
- Runs Allowed Per Game:
- Phillies: 4.2
- Nationals: 5.3
Game times and broadcasts
- Friday, August 9, at 7:05pm ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680, 94.1 WIP
- Saturday, August 10, at 6:05pm ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680, 94.1 WIP
- Sunday, August 11, at 1:05pm ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680, 1210 WPHT
Game coverage will be available on Philly Sports Reports’ Twitter page.
