Game 79: Phillies at Nats

It's a legitimately big four-game series on South Capitol Street this week. Plus, updates on DJ Herz, Jake Irvin and All-Star voting.

Good afternoon from South Capitol Street, where tonight the Nationals and Phillies open a four-game series, the biggest series between these two teams since … well, ever? Despite their standing as longtime division rivals, they haven’t really both been in contention at the same time at any point in the last two decades. You could argue perhaps a couple of series late in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but neither team actually made the postseason in 2018 and the Phillies didn’t make it in 2019. The May 2012 series here in which rookie Bryce Harper stole home off Cole Hamels comes to mind, but that was early in the season and Philly was never really in it that summer or fall.

Regardless, this is a legitimately important series for the Nationals, who have a chance to at least hold their own against the team currently tied with the Cardinals atop the NL wild card standings. The Nats are one of three teams 1/2-game behind the Cubs, who currently hold the third and final berth. There’s a long way to go, but every game counts, and at some point you have to expect at least one or two teams to separate themselves from this wide-open pack.

Foster Griffin gets the ball for tonight’s opener, looking to keep himself rolling. The lefty has allowed exactly one run in each of his last three starts. This will be his second outing against Philadelphia, having made his season debut at Citizens Bank Park way back on March 30 and allowed two runs over five innings. Griffin’s task tonight: Somehow keep the red-hot Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in check (and in the ballpark).

The Phillies were scrambling to find a starting pitcher tonight, having demoted the struggling Andrew Painter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after his last outing. They decided to go with left-hander Tim Mayza as the opener, with right-hander Alan Rangel (just recalled from Triple-A) likely to pitch in bulk behind him. Blake Butera has countered by loading up his right-handed hitters in the top half of the lineup, including Dylan Crews batting third and Jacob Young batting fifth.

The forecast isn’t great, with a line of storms set to sweep through the area late in the afternoon/early in the evening. The biggest question seems to be: How long will they last, and how late are they willing to wait to start the game, with very nice conditions expected Tuesday?

UPDATE: The start of the game will be delayed.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Chance of storms, 85 degrees, 13 mph out to center

PHILLIES
SS Trea Turner
DH Kyle Schwarber
1B Bryce Harper
3B Alec Bohm
LF Edmundo Sosa
RF Brandon Marsh
CF Derek Hill
2B Bryson Stott
C Rafael Marchán

LHP Tim Mayza

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
3B Curtis Mead
LF Dylan Crews
SS CJ Abrams
CF Jacob Young
DH Daylen Lile
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Luis García Jr.
2B Nasim Nuñez

LHP Foster Griffin

PREGAME NEWS

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

HERZ SHUT DOWN AFTER SETBACK

An MRI taken of DJ Herz’s arm over the weekend revealed a flexor muscle strain, forcing the left-hander to shut down just as he was approaching the final stages of his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

It’s a significant setback for Herz, who by all accounts was pleased with his rehab start last Tuesday for Single-A Fredericksburg but had to be scratched from Sunday’s planned outing.

“It’s unfortunate, because he was throwing the ball really well,” Butera said. “I think he felt like he was getting pretty close. And the stuff looked good. So it was a bit of a surprise.”

Herz, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2025, was highly encouraged after two strong rehab starts in West Palm Beach earlier this month. He then threw 38 pitches over 2 2/3 innings of 1-run ball Tuesday for Fredericksburg and was making plans to start there again Sunday before experiencing arm discomfort. The club scratched him from that start and sent him for the MRI.

The Nationals aren’t declaring any kind of timeline for Herz now, but this doesn’t appear to be a situation where he’ll only be shut down for a matter of days, with doctors needing to be convinced he’s fully healthy before ramping up his throwing program again.

“Hopefully, this isn’t too big of a setback,” Butera said. “But it's frustrating for DJ more than anything. We all were excited to see him pitch, and we’re frustrated as well. But I feel for DJ more than anybody, because of the amount of time he’s put into this.”

MORE INJURY UPDATES

In more encouraging news, Jake Irvin is set to throw off a bullpen mound Tuesday for the first time since landing on the 15-day IL four weeks ago. The right-hander, who was diagnosed with a strained shoulder, could ramp up from there and face live hitters soon if there are no setbacks.

Right-hander Max Kranick took Herz’s spot and stared Sunday for Fredericksburg on his own rehab assignment, throwing 30 pitches over 1 2/3 innings. The former Mets reliever, who had flexor tendon surgery last July and signed with the Nationals in May, reached 97 mph on Sunday and is expected to pitch again on Wednesday, building up to two innings.

WOOD STILL 7TH IN ALL-STAR VOTING

The latest reveal of All-Star voting showed little change from the Nationals’ perspective. CJ Abrams remains in the lead among NL shortstops, and James Wood remains in seventh place among NL outfielders.

Abrams (1,192,774) holds a slim lead over Mookie Betts (1,161,221), but both are in good position to advance to Phase 2 of the voting process, in which they would go head-to-head for the starting assignment in the Midsummer Classic.

Wood (915,287) still has ground to make up if he’s going to crack the top six who advance to Phase 2. He currently trails Juan Soto (947,033) for sixth place, with Andy Pages (1,518,451), Brandon Marsh (1,256,874), Ronald Acuna Jr. (1,216,288), Michael Harris II (1,059,921) and Teoscar Hernandez (1,043,541) ahead of them.

The Nats did see three of their other regulars reach 10th place in the latest voting update: Keibert Ruiz (133,801), Luis Garcia Jr. (104,700) and Curtis Mead (201,867).