Wrapping Up the Road Trip — Series Preview: Phillies at Nationals, August 14-17

The Phillies’ longest road trip of the season is set for its final stop: a 4-game series against the division rival Nationals.

The trip had an excellent start for the Phillies, as they won the first four games, including a sweep of the Texas Rangers. However, they’ve dropped back-to-back as the playoff-hungry Reds took the final 2 games of the series to win it.

Despite the losses, the Phillies have still been one of the best teams in baseball since the trade deadline. For the Nationals, it’s been a different story all season. With a 48-72 record, it’s been yet another long season for fans in D.C. Since the All-Star break, the Nationals are tied for the 7th worst team in MLB with a 10-14 record. Even more recently, they’re tied for the 4th-worst team in MLB since the trade deadline with a record of 4-8.

The two teams couldn’t be trending in more opposite directions, giving the Phillies a prime opportunity to continue to pad their division lead and fight for the No. 2 seed with the Dodgers and Padres.

Power surge vs. power outage

Despite Harrison Bader being the only addition to the offense at the trade deadline, the Phillies’ offense has soared in the 12 games since.

As a unit, they’ve been the second-best team in the national league in terms of runs per game, with 5.13, trailing only the Brewers, who have 6.79.

Arguably, the most surprising part is who they’ve gotten this production from. Brandon Marsh‘s resurgence over these last few months has taken on an entirely new meaning in the month of August. In the 10 games he’s played in, Marsh is hitting .333 and has lifted his batting average on the season up to .269. Arguably, his best game of the season has come during this stretch in his 4-hit effort against the Rangers. Marsh went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles and his 7th home run of the season as the Phillies blew out the Rangers 9-1.

Even Max Kepler has looked a lot better compared to how he’s looked all season. He’s hitting .250 in the 7 games he’s played, with his best being a 2-hit game he had against the Orioles that included a home run. Bryson Stott has also seen a revival at the plate after a brutal July. While still flashing his talents in the field, he’s hitting .360 in August with 6 RBIs and 3 extra base hits. He’s been a key piece in the success the bottom of the order has had since the deadline for the Phillies. Stott’s batting average on the year is up to .242, the highest it has been since late June.

For the Nationals, it hasn’t nearly been as positive. Offense has been a struggle for the Nats all season long, and those struggles have been amplified since the deadline and in the 2nd half.

Since the All-Star break, the Nationals have had the 8th-worst offense in baseball in terms of runs per game. When you zoom in, since the All-Star break, it does get slightly better, but they still have the 12th-worst in MLB in that span.

Their star, James Wood, has been mired in a bit of a power outage for the last 2 months. While the all-star does have 25 home runs on the season, he has only 3 since July 1st and 1 in August. Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams has also had a tough go since July 1st, hitting only .225 in this stretch.

A bright spot for the Nationals’ offense in August has been 23-year-old Robert Hassell III. Hassell is hitting .364 in August with a home run and 5 RBIs.

The Nationals’ lineup lacks experience up and down the order. As a very young team that’s also had to deal with a major leadership change midseason, they’ve dealt with a lot of growing pains.

Arms race

The Phillies and the Nationals’ pitching staffs are contraries as well. While the Phillies possess arguably the deepest pitching staff in all of baseball, the Nationals’ pitching staff is basically just MacKenzie Gore.

In game one of the series, the scheduled matchup is Nationals pitcher Brad Lord against Jesus Luzardo. Lord started out his season as a long relief pitcher for the Nationals, but this will be his 11th start of the season and his 39th appearance. In his last start against the slumping Giants, Lord took care of business, posting 6 innings of 1 run ball in a Nationals victory.

Luzardo has been very unpredictable in his last handful of starts. In his last start against the Rangers, he looked great, pitching 6 innings of 1-run baseball. He also pitched 7 scoreless against the White Sox in late July, right after getting shelled by the Red Sox. Luzardo is almost impossible to predict, which makes the game 1 matchup intriguing.

In Game 2, the Nationals get their ace, who’s been mired in a brutal stretch since July. The all-star Gore has an ERA of 7.09 in his 7 starts since the start of July. His worst of which came just 2 starts ago as he got blasted for 8 runs in 3 innings against the Athletics. Gore may have turned a corner in his last appearance, where he pitched 6 scoreless innings against the Giants.

The Phillies will also have their best on the mound as Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start. It has been a weird stretch for Wheeler, who’s been dealing with shoulder tightness. After a historic month of June where he posted a 0.58 ERA, Wheeler has taken a step back in the 2 months since with an ERA of 3.82. While those are still solid numbers, it is significantly above his season ERA of 2.68.

Game 3 will see the Nationals start 26-year-old Cade Cavalli. Cavalli has been one of baseball’s better stories this year as he recovered from injury to pitch in his first major league game since 2023 this month. He’s only started 2 games, and they’ve each been very different. In 4.1 innings against the Athletics, Cade pitched well, not allowing a run and striking out 6 batters. In his most recent start against the Royals, he struggled, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings in a game the Nationals went on to lose. His lack of experience could net him some trouble in a veteran-heavy Philles lineup.

For the Phillies, it’s another great story taking the mound in Taijuan Walker. Walker’s resurrection from a total liability in the rotation to an actually really solid pitcher this season has been shocking to say the least. In August specifically, Walker has been fantastic in his 2 starts. He’s combined for 12 innings pitched and just 1 earned run for a 0.75 ERA. The Nationals have also been a team Taijuan has had a lot of success against in his career. In 8 career starts, he has an ERA of 3.48 and 37 strikeouts.

For the 4th and final game of the series, the Nationals are slated to start Mitchell Parker. Parker has had a rough season with an ERA of 5.55 in 24 starts. August specifically has been brutal to Mitchell Parker, with an ERA over 10 in 3 starts. The Phillies starter for game 4 is currently listed as TBA, but it is expected to be Aaron Nola‘s first start since going on the 60-day IL. Nola recently struck out 11 batters in his rehab start in Lehigh Valley and will be traveling with the team to Washington, D.C.

Nola’s start to the year couldn’t have gone much worse with a 6.16 ERA, and his final start was a shelling against the Cardinals, where he gave up 9 runs. The Nationals have also been a team Nola has frequently found success against in his career, with an ERA of 3.75 in 34 games.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Thursday, August 14th, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Friday, August 15th, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Saturday, August 16th, 4:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Sunday, August 17th, 11:35 p.m. ET, Roku, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Probable Pitching

Game 1: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 11-5, 4.20 ERA) vs. Brad Lord (RHP, 3-6, 3.28 ERA)

Game 2: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 10-5, 2.68 ERA) vs. MacKenzie Gore (LHP, 5-12, 4.09 ERA)

Game 3: Taijuan Walker (RHP, 4-5, 3.39 ERA) vs. Cade Cavalli (RHP, 0-0, 3.86 ERA)

Game 4: TBD vs. Mitchell Parker (LHP, 7-13, 5.55 ERA)

By The Numbers

• Records
  • Phillies: 69-51
  • Nationals: 48-72
• Run Differential
  • Phillies: 80
  • Nationals: -148
• Runs Scored Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.67
  • Nationals: 4.26
• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 3.93
  • Nationals: 5.51

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