This Saturday the (36-71) Washington Nationals and the (57-48) Philadelphia Phillies will play game three of this four-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 6:05 PM EST inside Citizens Bank Park. This is also the third series between these two teams this season, as the Phillies stole the first two and won game one of this series.
The Washington Nationals were coming into this one after losing their previous series to the New York Mets. The Nats struggled on the mound and in the field, as they surrendered 16 combined runs in their two losses. They couldn't keep up with the Mets, as they continued to let them score throughout both of those games.
The Philadelphia Phillies are entering this one after splitting their short two-game series with the Atlanta Braves. They were blown out in game one, but they rebounded in game two, as they got the 3-1 win. They will need their bats to st ay hot if they want to take down the Nationals in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Nationals just traded two of their best players to San Diego, as they got much worse after the trade deadline. They are also 31.0 games out of first place, as they are still dead last in the NL East. Washington is also (4-6) in their last 10, as they gave the Mets a run for their money without their two superstars. At the plate, Washington is scoring 3.94 runs per game and they are hitting .248 as a team. This is the 26th least amount of runs scored per game and the 11th highest overall team batting average. They have shown that they can make contact with the ball and consistently reach base, but they have struggled to drive in men when they are in scoring position. The Nationals have also realized that they have very little home run power littered throughout their batting lineup. They are only averaging .82 bombs per game, which is the 28th lowest average in the MLB. I expect this average to continue to drop, as well. Juan S oto and Bell were two of their best home run hitters and now they both play for San Diego. I expect them to stay conservative on the base path. They have only recorded 28 stolen bases, which is the 28th least in the league.
In the field, they are currently allowing 5.61 runs per game and they have the 25th lowest overall team fielding percentage. They tend to make mistakes in the field that come back to hurt them, as they can be much cleaner in the field. They have also recorded 70 fielding errors, which is the 28th most in the MLB. They haven't supported their starting pitchers this season, as they continue to make mistakes that give their opponents multiple chances to score.
According to MLB.com, the Nationals will start Patrick Corbin on the mound. He has struggled this season, as he is (4-15) with a 6.57 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He was lit up in his last start, as well. He only pitched for 4.1 innings but surrendered seven hits and f our earned runs. The Mets hit him early and often, as he stood no chance in that matchup.
Injuries: The Nationals could be without Nelson Cruz (Quad). He is listed as questionable.