Philadelphia @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2010 ) Philadelphia 8, Washington 0
The Philadelphia Phillies were not interested in delaying the inevitable.
With five games to spare, the Phillies (94-63) wrapped up their fourth consecutive NL East title in Monday's series opener against the Washington Nationals (67-90).
Now, the teams square off with virtually nothing on the line on Tuesday.
Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.80 ERA) will look to remain sharp as Charlie Manuel positions his starting pitching for the postseason. The veteran manager will shuffle Oswalt with 21-game winner Roy Halladay and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels in some rotation as Philadelphia will look to gain its third straight World Series berth.
Acquired from the Houston Astros on July 29, Oswalt has made quite the favorable impression with his new team. The 33-year-old right-hander is 7-1 with a slim 1.76 ERA in his first 11 starts with the Phillies.
With an extra day of rest, Oswalt may not be able to improve upon his last start. He allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings - but was saddled with a no-decision in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Prior to that, Oswalt recorded seven straight victorious decisions - including two against the Nationals.
The hurler will also be buoyed by the expected return to the lineup of Jimmy Rollins, who may be making his first start since Sept. 8. The three-time All-Star shortstop had been hampered by a hamstring injury prior to making a pinch-hit appearance on Sunday.
With rain in the forecast on Monday, Manuel elected to keep Rollins on the bench for precautionary reasons.
As for Monday itself, Halladay tossed a two-hit, complete-game gem and Jayson Werth belted a solo homer and drove in four runs as the Phillies cruised to an 8-0 triumph.
Halladay posted his fifth straight win and improved to 8-1 in 12 career appearances against the Nationals' franchise. The seven-time All-Star struck out six for his ninth complete game of the season and 58th career.
Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz had run-scoring doubles and Placido Polanco added a RBI single as Philadelphia improved to 18-3 in road games since Aug. 1.
Washington will counter with Jason Marquis (2-9, 7.18 ERA), who has dropped his last two decisions - including a six-run, six-effort in one-third of an inning against the Phillies on Sept. 17.
The 32-year-old right-hander pitched well in his last outing on Wednesday. Marquis permitted two runs and seven hits in six innings, but settled for a no-decision in his team's 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros.