Series Preview: Phillies at Nationals, May 24-26

The Phillies (23-24) continue their road trip and visit division rival Washington (24-23) to begin a three-game series on Friday evening.

Righty starter Jordan Zimmermann, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Thursday, will try to become the National League's first eight-game winner as he takes the mound in the series opener for the Nats. The Phils will counter with right-hander Kyle Kendrick, who will try to get the Phillies back to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6 this season.

The two teams split 18 games against one another last season.

Read ahead for full reviews of the pitching match ups and other key statistics from this series.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 2.82 ERA) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (7-2, 1.62 ERA). Kendrick has a 2-0 record along with a 1.20 ERA in four road games this season. In 19 career outings against the Nats, Kendrick has a 4-5 record with a 4.68 ERA. Bryce Harper is 6-for-12 (.500 avg) with three doubles and a HR against Kendrick in his career. In six career starts against the Phillies, Zimmermann has a 1-4 record with a 5.06 ERA. Zimmermann has a 4-0 record with a 1.24 ERA in four home starts this season. Ryan Howard is 2-for-9 (.222 avg) with a homer against Zimmermann.

Saturday, 7:15 PM. Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Dan Haren (4-5, 5.54 ERA). Pettibone has a 5.06 ERA in two road starts. Pettibone has held opponents to a .175 average with runners on base. Haren is 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA in four career starts against the Phillies. In four home starts this season, Haren has a 3-1 record with a 4.91 ERA and a .337 batting average against. Michael Young is 19-for-58 (.328 avg) in his career against Haren.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Cole Hamels (1-7, 4.45 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (2-4, 2.76 ERA). Hamels is 13-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 24 career starts against the Nationals. In six career starts at National Park, Hamels is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Adam LaRoche is 8-for-25 with a double and four home runs and eight RBI in his career against Hamels. In four home starts this season, Detwiler is 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA. Detwiler is 2-4 with a 4.24 ERA in eight career games against the Phils. Domonic Brown is 0-for-7 in his career against Detwiler.

In 15 road games this year, Freddy Galvis has a .324 batting average with two homers and four RBI. Galvis is a .222 hitter in six games against the Nats.

Ryan Howard is a .265 hitter with 36 home runs and 110 RBI in 128 games against the Nationals in his career. Howard is batting .236 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 23 road games this season.

Domonic Brown is a .203 hitter with two home runs in 23 career games against the Nats.

Phils second baseman Chase Utley was placed on the disabled list with an oblique strain. Michael Martinez was recalled to fill his void on the roster.

Bryce Harper is a career .313 hitter with two homers and eight RBI in 18 games against the Phillies. Harper is batting .174 in 15 May games.

Denard Span is 9-for-25 (.360 avg) with two homers and four RBI in six career games against the Phils. Span is batting .300 in 21 home games this season.

In 11 career games against the Phillies, Kurt Suzuki has a .314 average with a home run and three RBI.

Phillies team OPS- .690 (26th in MLB)
Nationals team OPS- .653 (29th in MLB)

This Guy Speaks For All of You

This individual, interviewed by FOX 29 on Friday as the Phillies arrived back at Citizens Bank Park, said it best. When asked how he felt regarding the Phillies, he told Steve Keeley that he was, "Stoked, baby!" The unidentified phanatic then proclaimed, "We are talking about the Fightins here, the Fightins! Said!" Check out the media player below, as the transcribed version certainly does not do this phireball of phandom justice. The Phillies forced game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday night. Game 6 will feature Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez in a return pitching match up from game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 7:57 pm EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Be sure to tune in on 97.3 ESPN's Weekend Sports Guide with Tyrone Johnson this afternoon around 1:15pm to hear me chatting about the Phillies! 97.3 is based in Atlantic City. You can listen live online HERE . _________

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