Washington @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 7, 2024 ) Philadelphia 2, Washington 3
Coming off a tough loss, the Philadelphia Phillies will look to open their next series on a positive note when they host the Washington Nationals on Friday.
The Phillies blew a late lead and fell 6-5 to the visiting New York Mets in 11 innings on Thursday. However, Philadelphia still took three of four in a pair of two-game series between the teams to start the week.
Kyle Schwarber hit an RBI double for the Phillies on Thursday, while J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm added two hits apiece. Bryson Stott came off the bench and had a single and two RBIs.
Philadelphia went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.
Despite the ugly loss, the Phillies still own the majors' best record, 31-14.
"We were resilient the whole night and kept trying to find a way to come back," Schwarber said. "We just weren't able to get that big one at the end. New one tomorrow."
Phillies starter Taijuan Walker was hit by Starling Marte's line-drive single and left with a left big toe contusion after 3 1/3 innings. It forced manager Rob Thomson to use six relief pitchers on the eve of a new series.
Thompson said after the game that X-rays on the toe were negative, added, "We'll just have to see how he comes in (Friday)."
"I think we're in pretty good shape," Thomson added regarding his pitching situation despite the short start.
The Phillies will hand the ball to Zack Wheeler (4-3, 2.53 ERA) on Friday. In his latest start, the right-hander gave up six runs on six hits and three walks in four innings against the host Miami Marlins on Sunday.
"Nothing felt out of whack," Wheeler said postgame. "I had a hard time trying to fix it just because I didn't feel anything. Most of the time when you're doing that kind of stuff, you feel something. You're pulling off or something like that. You can try to make the adjustment. But I felt great today. (I was) just barely missing. I was frustrated when I was out there, but I think most of the balls were off."
Wheeler is 12-15 with a 4.67 ERA in 32 career starts against the Nationals.
Washington will also look to rebound, having been shut out in consecutive losses to the Chicago White Sox. The second of those setbacks was a 2-0 defeat on Wednesday.
"We just can't get that big hit," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "It does boil down to just getting that one hit. I think if we score a couple of runs there, everybody relaxes, things start happening. And we just can't get it done."
On Tuesday, the Nationals went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base in the second game of a doubleheader, falling 4-0 to the White Sox. On Wednesday, Washington finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine on base.
"I keep saying, 'We're close, we're close,'" Martinez said. "We've just got to put a couple of games together where we're knocking in some runs, and then we forget about all this and we take off. We've just got to keep our heads up. We got to just start to work better at-bats, get the ball in the zone, especially with guys on base. Let's just get the ball in the zone and be aggressive."
Jake Irvin (2-3, 3.55 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Nationals on Friday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts covering 12 innings against the Phillies. He took a loss against Philadelphia on April 6 after yielding four runs on five hits in six innings.
Irvin will need run support, which is hardly guaranteed. One Washington player who is struggling in particular is Keibert Ruiz. He struck out three times while going 0-for-4 on Wednesday and is hitting .141 with a .392 OPS this season.
"I've got to sit down, relax, think a little bit better and swing at better pitches, better plan and stay with it," Ruiz said. "Don't go off the plan and don't chase for results. Just have a plan, and whatever happens, happens."
--Field Level Media