Washington (54-102) and Philadelphia (84-72) were supposed to play a doubleheader on Saturday and then it was moved to Friday due to the weather. They decided to move it back to Saturday and who knows whether the rain will hold up for both games to be played.
The Phillies won the first game and the only game on Friday, 5-1, to break a five-game losing streak. All of these games are must-win for Philadelphia, who is locked in a battle for the final wild-card spot with Milwaukee (1/2 game up).
These teams will (hopefully) battle in Game 1 with RHP Kyle Gibson (10-7, 4.84) taking on RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-6, 4.06 ERA) at 1:05pmET in Washington D.C.
The Phillies took care of business in what was supposed to be Game 1 on Friday against the Nats. Rhys Hoskins hit home run No. 30 and Bailey Falter pitched an outstanding six innings of scoreless baseball with six strikeouts. Talk about a big win for a desperate team, who has lost 10 of their last 13 games. Fortunately, they met the worst team in baseball, who they have defeated 14 of 16 times this season.
1.73. He cannot be for Real-muto. #RingTheBell x @CitizensBank pic.twitter.com/t5KG5zaLfV
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 30, 2022
Philadelphia is one of the toughest divisions in baseball, sitting behind the Mets and Braves in the NL East. The Phillies average 4.63 runs per game (7th) and have a solid batting average (.254) to rank seventh in the league. Hitting is not a major problem, especially when you have Kyle Schwarber, the former Cubs and Nats slugger, who has 42 home runs with 87 RBI and Hoskins (30 HR, 78 RBI). OF Bryce Harper has been limited to 94 games due to injuries, but was on an MVP-run with a .293 average, 18 homers, 64 RBIs and a .533 slugging average.
Pitching has been the biggest issue though the ERA (3.92 ERA) isn't bad. The bullpen (4.16 ERA) is the problem for the Phillies and has been a concern for awhile. Kyle Gibson will go for the Phils and the veteran has not pitched well lately. He allowed five runs in his last start in five innings against the Braves and has given up 16 runs in three of his last four starts. The goo news is that he' s facing the Nats and in his only start against them on Aug. 5, gave up just one run and two hits in eight innings in a 7-2 Phillies win.