2020 Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (10-14) at Washington Nationals (11-15)

The Philadelphia Phillies will travel to Washington D.C. to face off against the Nationals in a three-game series kicking off Tuesday night.

Because of the Phillies’ recent five-game losing streak, which they broke Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves, they sit in last place in the National League East. They are just below the Nationals in the standings, who have played two additional games and hold a slightly higher winning percentage than the Phillies.

At this point in the season, the Phillies really need to string some wins together. Having played fewer games than almost anyone else in the NL East, their situation seems more desperate than it actually is. Still, sweeping the Nationals would put them in a more respectable position heading into the second half of the season.

In order to win, the Phillies need to see more improvement from their bullpen. In their last eight losses the Phillies have given up leads ranging from as little as one run to as many as seven runs.

To help the struggling bullpen, the Phillies acquired David Hale from the New York Yankees as well as Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from the Boston Red Sox. Workman and Hembree pitched in the Phillies’ series against the Braves and helped to close out the final game of the series, which the Phillies won 5-4.

If the bullpen woes are solved, and the offense continues to perform, the Phillies might be in line to put up better numbers in this series and throughout the second half of the season.

Shibe Vintage Sports Probable Pitchers

• Game 1: RHP Jake Arrieta (1-3, 4.95 ERA, 4.29 FIP) vs. RHP Erick Fedde (1-1, 2.55 ERA, 5.57 FIP)
• Game 2: RHP Aaron Nola (2-2, 3.10 ERA, 3.35 FIP) vs. LHP Patrick Corbin (2-2, 3.99 ERA, 3.41 FIP)
• Game 3: RHP Spencer Howard (0-1, 6.17 ERA, 7.00 FIP) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.31 ERA, 3.75 FIP)

So far this season, Arrieta had two strong outings against the Yankees and Braves but struggled against the Orioles and Red Sox. He’ll try to regain some semblance of consistency in the series opener.

Nola struggled in his last start against the Braves. He only lasted 2 2/3 innings against them, gave up six hits, four runs and walked three batters. He will be looking for some redemption on Wednesday when he faces off against Corbin.

Spencer Howard will finish off the series on Thursday. After three starts, Howard is showing a lot of promise. With more game experience and refinement he might become a valuable asset to the Phillies.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• The Nationals are entering the series against the Phillies with a five-game winning streak that dates back to the end of the 2019 season. Over their last 11 games, the Nationals have won 10.
• Juan Soto has hit three career go-ahead homers in the ninth inning or later, all of which were against the Phillies.
• Nationals shortstop Trea Turner has hit safely in ten straight games. He is 17-for-39 (.436), including two homers and seven RBI.
• Third baseman Alec Bohm hit his first career home run against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, August 23.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• Game 1: Tuesday at 6:05 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Game 2: Wednesday at 6:05 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94 WIP
• Game 3: Thursday at 6:37 on Fox and SportsRadio 94 WIP

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