Philadelphia @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 1, 2014 ) Philadelphia 2, Washington 1

The Philadelphia Phillies look to make it three straight wins over the first-place Washington Nationals when the teams continue their four-game set in the nation's capital on Saturday. The Phillies rolled to a 10-4 victory in Thursday's series opener before squeaking past the Nationals, 2-1, on Friday behind Roberto Hernandez's eight dominant innings. Washington has lost four of its last five games and leads Atlanta by 1 1/2 games in the National League East.

Grady Sizemore has been a pleasant addition to the Phillies' lineup, batting .344 since joining the team on July 11. The Nationals' Asdrubal Cabrera, his former teammate with Cleveland, joined Washington in time for Friday's game following a trade from the Indians and went 0-for-4 with a game-ending strikeout. Washington, which is trying to avoid its first three-game skid since late June, will turn to Jordan Zimmermann, who is 5-6 with a 3.82 ERA in 12 career starts versus Philadelphia.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, NBC 10 (Philadelphia), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH A.J. Burnett (6-10, 4.15 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (6-5, 3.17)

Burnett's last three starts have featured two dreadful outings and one terrific performance. He was charged with seven runs in five frames in Monday's loss to the New York Mets after pitching eight scoreless innings against San Francisco five days earlier. Among the Nationals players who have enjoyed success against Burnett are Adam LaRoche (.387 average in 31 at-bats) and Cabrera (.375 with two homers in 16 at-bats).

Zimmermann has faced the Phillies twice this season with varying degrees of success. He twirled eight scoreless innings in a home start on June 3 and then took on Philadelphia again on July 11 but lasted just 3 1/3 frames and allowed four runs before leaving with a biceps cramp. Ryan Howard is just 3-for-17 against Zimmermann, while Marlon Byrd has the exact same stat line versus the 28-year-old righty.

WALK-OFFS

1. Zimmermann has not walked more than two hitters in any start this season and has issued just 21 free passes in 125 innings.

2. The Nationals have not hit a home run in any of their last eight games.

3. Phillies 2B Chase Utley is 1-for-16 over his last five games, although he does have six RBIs in that stretch.

PREDICTION: Nationals 3, Phillies 0