To begin their final series of the 2012 season, the Phillies (80-79) will travel to Washington, where they'll face the playoff-bound Nationals (96-63), who have a magic number of one, to clinch their first National League East division title.
Just one win by the Nationals or a loss by the Braves will lock down Washington's division crown and Atlanta's wild card placement. This will mark an end to the Phillies' run of five consecutive division titles, a franchise record.
Not only is the division title on the line, but the Nats are also tied with Cincinnati for the best record in the league, which would determine home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Read ahead for more about the pitching match ups as well as plenty more statistical information from this series.
Monday, 7:05 PM. Kyle Kendrick (10-12, 4.08 ERA) vs. John Lannan (4-0, 4.23 ERA). The lefty Lannan earned a win against the Phils last week, when he allowed 2 earned runs over 5 1/3 innings in Philadelphia. In 18 career starts against the Phillies, Lannan is 3-12 with a 5.64 ERA. Lannan has a 5.94 ERA in 3 home starts this year. In 18 road games this season (10 starts), Kendrick has a 4-5 record with a 3.65 ERA. Adam LoRoche is 3-for-18 (.167 avg) in his career against Kendrick. In 6 career games at Nationals Park, Kendrick has a 1-1 record with a 5.54 ERA.
Tuesday, 7:05 PM. B.J. Rosenberg (1-2, 6.86 ERA) vs. Gio Gonzalez (21-8, 2.89 ERA). In 8 road games, Rosenberg has posted a 0-1 record with a 12.86 ERA. Rosenberg had a 0.87 ERA in 8 relief appearances in September. The left-handed Gonzalez has a 3-1 record with a 2.52 ERA in 4 career starts against the Phillies. In 14 home starts this season, Gonzalez is 9-4 with a 2.38 ERA. In his last 6 starts, Gonzalez has a 5-1 record with a 1.35 ERA.
Wednesday, 1:05 PM. Cliff Lee (6-8, 3.12 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson (9-11, 4.13 ERA). In his last 7 starts, Lee has a 4-1 record with a 1.07 ERA. Lee is 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 7 career starts against Washington. In 15 road starts this season, Lee has a 4-2 record with a 2.73 ERA. Jackson is 0-4 with a 5.32 ERA and a .319 batting average against in 4 career starts against the Phillies. Jackson is 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA over his last 4 starts. Carlos Ruiz is 5-for-6 (.833 avg) with 2 doubles in his career against Jackson.
Righty hurler Tyson Brummett, who posted a 5-6 record with a 3.20 ERA in 44 minor league games this season, will join the Phillies to add some depth to the pitching staff with Tyler Cloyd shut down for the remainder of the season. The 28-year-old Brummett was the Phils' 7th round draft selection in 2007.
Laynce Nix is batting .197 in 46 games since the All-Star break. Nix has posted a .346 average with runners in scoring position this season.
Chase Utley is 10-for-30 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles against the Nationals this season. Utley is a career .307 hitter with 4 homers and 18 RBI in 31 games played at Nationals Park.
In 56 road games this season, Carlos Ruiz has posted a .340/.395/.563 slash line. Ruiz is batting an even .330 against both left-handed and right-handed pitching this season.
Rookie Bryce Harper's 97 runs scored lead the Nationals team. Harper drove in 6 runs against the Phillies in a 3-game series last week.
All-Star Ian Desmond is batting .211 in 10 games against the Phillies this season. Desmond is batting .310 with 16 homers and 45 RBI in 67 home games this year.
In 32 career games against the Phillies, Jayson Werth is a .250 hitter with 5 HR and 19 RBI.
Phillies runs scored since the All-Star break- 216 (23rd in MLB)
National runs scored since the All-Star break- 287 (2nd in MLB)
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