Game 117: Nats at Phillies
The series, and the road trip, wrap up this evening with a daunting matchup against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez
PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals snapped their seven-game losing streak Wednesday night, and they did it in particularly entertaining fashion, which made for a boisterous clubhouse at the end of a long night. And that actually gives them a shot at escaping Philly with a four-game series split if they can win tonight’s finale.
That will be easier said than done, because on paper this looks like a lopsided matchup. Cy Young Award candidate Cristopher Sánchez starts for the Phillies, and that will be no picnic for a depleted Nats lineup. They did actually hand Sánchez one of his worst starts of the summer in June, scoring five runs over five innings, four of those coming in the bottom of the first. Curtis Mead homered in that game, though obviously he’s not around anymore. But Dylan Crews also had three hits, and Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Nasim Nuñez each had an RBI single that night.
Interesting quirk to tonight’s lineup: Both catchers are starting for the first time this season, with Keibert Ruiz behind the plate and Harry Ford serving as DH. Andrew Pinckney also makes his real MLB debut as part of the lineup after pinch-running Wednesday night.
Miles Mikolas, meanwhile, hopes to carry over the good vibes from his surprise pinch-hit appearance Wednesday night and perform well on the mound as he celebrates 10 years of MLB service time today. The 37-year-old also faced the Phillies in that earlier series, allowing two runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings of bulk relief. He’ll get the start tonight, and given how much he had to use the bullpen Wednesday, Blake Butera may have to push Mikolas more than preferred.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Slight chance of storms, 91 degrees, wind 11 mph out to center
NATIONALS
RF Dylan Crews
1B Andrés Chaparro
3B Brady House
SS CJ Abrams
DH Harry Ford
LF Andrew Pinckney
CF Jacob Young
2B Nasim Nuñez
C Keibert Ruiz
RHP Miles Mikolas
PHILLIES
DH Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
RF Bryce Harper
2B Luis Arraez
1B Alec Bohm
LF Brandon Marsh
C JT Realmuto
3B Bryson Stott
CF Justin Crawford
LHP Cristopher Sánchez
This is a young team and I wonder if the trade deadline pressure with all it entails regarding expectations became too much for them? Last night was fun and I suspect helped to loosen them up. Which makes me hope they can reprise their performance against Sanchez again. Let's go Nats!
Pray for Miles!