The last place Nationals (52-69) travel to Philadelphia where the Wild Card leading Phillies (68-52) will play host for the 3-game series.
The Phillies have won 5 of 9 in the season series thus far against Washington. The Nats will send Jason Marquis to the mound to try and even things up in game 1 on Friday evening. Marquis threw one inning of scoreless relief against the Phils in last year's divisional playoff round for the Rockies. Philadelphia will counter with Roy Halladay, who has 5 straight wins with a 1.82 ERA against the Nationals franchise dating back to their days in Montreal.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Class A Lakewood on Friday night. There will be a jersey retirement ceremony prior to the game, as Howard was a member of the BlueClaws during the 2002 season.
Read on for more on the pitching match ups and additional information on this series.
Friday, 7:05pm. Jason Marquis (0-5, 14.33 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (15-8, 2.24 ERA). Marquis is 5-5 with a 5.21 ERA in 21 career games against the Phillies. In 4 regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park, Marquis is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA. Jayson Werth and Chase Utley are a combined 17-for-35 (.486 avg) with 3 homeruns against Marquis in regular season action. In his last 5 starts, Halladay is 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA. In 14 starts at home this season, Halladay is 9-4 with a 1.95 ERA. Ivan Rodriguez is 13-for-32 (.406 avg) with 2 homers in his career against Halladay.
Saturday, 7:05pm. Stephen Strasburg (5-3, 2.97 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (8-5, 4.45 ERA). In 4 road starts, Strasburg is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a .229 batting average against. In his last 5 starts, Strasburg is 3-1 with a 3.67 ERA. In 8 career starts against the Nationals, Kendrick is 1-2 with a 6.93 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Kendrick is 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA. Ryan Zimmerman is 7-for-13 (.538 avg) with 4 doubles and a homerun in his career against Kendrick.
Sunday, 1:35pm. Scott Olsen (3-5, 5.14 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (8-13, 3.36 ERA). Olsen is 5-6 with a 5.37 ERA in 14 career starts against the Phils. In his last 5 starts, Olsen is 1-4 with an 8.86 ERA. Jayson Werth is 10-for-20 (.500 avg) with 2 doubles and 3 homers in his career against Olsen. In 14 games against DC, Oswalt is 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA. In 2 home starts as a Phillie, Oswalt is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA. Oswalt has a 4.33 ERA in 6 starts since the All-star break.
Ivan Rodriguez is a career .330 hitter with a .919 OPS in 32 career games against the Phillies.
In 27 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Adam Dunn has 4 doubles and 10 homeruns.
The Phillies are 22-3 when Jimmy Rollins scores a run this season. Rollins is batting .287 in 31 home games this season.
Placido Polanco's .318 batting average leads the team and is tied for 3rd best in the National League.
Brad Lidge has a career 4.28 ERA in 35 games against the Nats. Lidge has strung together 7 straight scoreless outings. Opponents are hitting .190 against Lidge since the All-star break.
Nationals team runs scored- 487
Phillies team runs scored- 571
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