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Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (23-24) @ Washington Nationals (24-23)

Home sweet home! After a not so nice California road trip, the Washington Nationals return home for a three-game set against the team hot on their heels in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies.

By Jared Book
Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

The Nationals get set to face their NL East rival the Philadelphia Phillies for three games and get to avoid Cliff Lee which is good news as he is by far the Phillies best pitcher so far this season. Instead the Nationals get hard-luck Cole Hamels who faces off in the finale against Stephen Strasburg.

Let's get historical on all of you. On the off day, I did some research.

The 159 runs the Nationals have scored in their first 47 games this season is bad enough for seventh worst since 1969 and the worst since moving to Washington. Never have they had a record over .500 in that time (best was 21-25 in 1971) and they never were higher than fourth in the standings (in 1998, with a 17-30 record). So if you keep saying to yourself that you can't remember a more inept offense to start the season since 2005, you're right. The worst in Washington was in 2007. The team was 18-29 with 169 runs scored.

And while we're talking about streaks, if the Nationals only get better from here, they will match their worst 47 game stretch from last season. Yes, last year they had a 47 game stretch that went 24-23. That was from games 19-65. They scored 182 runs in that span. So, don't worry. The Nationals may be disappointing, but if the best is yet to come, they can still match last season.

Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
WSH: Jordan Zimmermann (7-2, 1.62 ERA)
PHI: Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 2.82 ERA)

Saturday, 7:15 p.m.
WSH: Dan Haren (4-5, 5.54 ERA)
PHI: Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.00 ERA)

Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
WSH: Stephen Strasburg (2-5, 2.66 ERA)
PHI: Cole Hamels (1-7, 4.45 ERA)

Projected Phillies Lineup (via MLB Depth Charts)
SS Jimmy Rollins
CF Ben Revere vs RHP
3B Michael Young
1B Ryan Howard
RF Delmon Young
LF Domonic Brown
2B Freddy Galvis
C Erik Kratz

BENCH
C Humberto Quintero
IF Kevin Frandsen
IF/OF Michael Martinez
OF John Mayberry CF vs LHP
OF/IF Laynce Nix

BULLPEN
RHP Jonathan Papelbon
LHP Antonio Bastardo
RHP Justin De Fratus
RHP Chad Durbin
LHP Jeremy Horst
RHP Michael Stutes
RHP B.J. Rosenberg

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
Zach Duke 10 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000
Bryce Harper 41 139 28 40 7 1 12 23 22 27 1 2 .288 .383 .612
Ryan Zimmerman 33 117 15 32 5 2 3 23 18 31 3 0 .274 .372 .427
Ian Desmond 46 175 19 47 14 2 6 19 9 44 5 1 .269 .301 .474
Denard Span 44 173 18 46 7 2 0 11 16 28 5 2 .266 .332 .329
Jayson Werth 27 100 17 26 2 0 4 10 6 21 2 0 .260 .308 .400
Wilson Ramos 14 48 4 12 3 0 2 6 4 8 0 1 .250 .308 .438
Kurt Suzuki 33 102 8 25 5 1 2 9 11 16 2 0 .245 .322 .373
Anthony Rendon 8 25 2 6 1 0 0 1 5 7 0 0 .240 .367 .280
Steve Lombardozzi 37 91 7 20 4 1 0 6 3 12 0 2 .220 .245 .286
Adam LaRoche 44 151 17 33 4 0 7 20 18 50 1 0 .219 .300 .384
Gio Gonzalez 10 14 1 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 .214 .267 .429
Chad Tracy 24 39 1 7 0 0 1 3 3 13 0 2 .179 .238 .256
Dan Haren 9 18 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 9 0 0 .167 .167 .222
Danny Espinosa 39 141 10 23 9 0 3 12 4 40 1 0 .163 .196 .291
Jordan Zimmermann 9 20 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 0 .150 .190 .150
Tyler Moore 28 66 4 8 4 0 1 8 3 27 0 0 .121 .157 .227
Roger Bernadina 32 61 5 7 0 1 0 1 4 22 1 0 .115 .194 .148
Jhonatan Solano 5 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .111 .200 .111
Stephen Strasburg 10 20 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 .100 .100 .150
Ross Detwiler 8 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 0 0 .000 .067 .000
Eury Perez 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Craig Stammen 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .500 .000
Drew Storen 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Ryan Mattheus 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Tyler Clippard 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Rafael Soriano 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Henry Rodriguez 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Yunesky Maya 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Pitching

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
Jordan Zimmermann 7-2 9 9 3 1 0 0 66.2 49 13 12 3 9 45 1.62 .87
Tyler Clippard 3-1 19 0 0 0 0 0 18.0 7 5 5 1 11 19 2.50 1.00
Stephen Strasburg 2-5 10 10 0 0 0 0 64.1 51 28 19 5 21 62 2.66 1.12
Ross Detwiler 2-4 8 8 0 0 0 0 45.2 56 16 14 3 10 23 2.76 1.45
Craig Stammen 2-1 12 0 0 0 0 1 22.2 22 7 7 2 5 23 2.78 1.19
Rafael Soriano 1-1 21 0 0 0 13 3 21.0 19 8 7 2 4 15 3.00 1.10
Gio Gonzalez 3-2 10 10 0 0 0 0 59.0 43 25 24 6 26 57 3.66 1.17
Henry Rodriguez 0-0 13 0 0 0 0 0 14.2 10 6 6 1 13 10 3.68 1.57
Drew Storen 0-0 18 0 0 0 1 3 18.0 25 11 9 3 4 16 4.50 1.61
Ryan Mattheus 0-0 14 0 0 0 0 1 16.1 20 9 9 0 5 12 4.96 1.53
Dan Haren 4-5 9 9 0 0 0 0 50.1 64 35 31 10 8 36 5.54 1.43
Zach Duke 0-1 10 1 0 0 0 0 18.1 29 20 18 2 4 11 8.84 1.80
Yunesky Maya 0-1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 2 2 1 0 0 54.00 6.00

Washington Nationals Injuries

Questionable

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Ross Detwiler back 05/21/2013

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Jayson Werth ankle 05/03/2013
Ryan Mattheus hand 05/20/2013
Wilson Ramos hamstring 05/16/2013
Christian Garcia forearm 03/22/2013


PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG
John Lannan 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .500 .500 1.000
Raul Valdes 10 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .667
Cliff Lee 13 19 3 6 1 0 0 1 1 5 0 2 .316 .350 .368
Michael Young 46 157 17 45 7 2 1 10 23 26 0 0 .287 .378 .376
Freddy Galvis 27 69 4 19 3 0 3 8 5 15 1 0 .275 .333 .449
Chase Utley 44 158 21 43 7 2 7 25 16 24 5 2 .272 .339 .475
Jimmy Rollins 47 182 19 48 13 1 3 17 12 31 4 3 .264 .310 .396
Ryan Howard 43 160 17 42 11 0 6 25 9 47 0 0 .263 .297 .444
Ben Revere 41 136 16 35 3 1 0 5 8 20 8 3 .257 .299 .294
John Mayberry 42 104 14 26 8 1 2 9 9 28 2 2 .250 .310 .404
Humberto Quintero 7 20 0 5 2 0 0 2 1 6 0 0 .250 .286 .350
Domonic Brown 46 165 17 41 6 1 8 24 9 32 2 0 .248 .290 .442
Kevin Frandsen 25 33 6 8 2 0 2 7 3 3 0 0 .242 .342 .485
Carlos Ruiz 16 51 5 12 2 0 0 2 3 9 1 0 .235 .286 .275
Delmon Young 19 60 5 14 4 0 3 7 5 14 0 0 .233 .304 .450
Laynce Nix 39 66 7 15 2 0 2 6 6 20 1 0 .227 .292 .348
Erik Kratz 29 92 11 20 2 0 3 9 8 21 0 0 .217 .277 .337
Kyle Kendrick 9 18 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 .111 .111 .111
Jonathan Pettibone 6 11 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 .091 .231 .091
Ezequiel Carrera 13 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 .077 .250 .077
Cole Hamels 10 17 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 .059 .059 .059
Roy Halladay 7 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Tyler Cloyd 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 .000 .167 .000
Antonio Bastardo 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Chad Durbin 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Jonathan Papelbon 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Mike Adams 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Joe Savery 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Phillippe Aumont 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Jeremy Horst 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
B.J. Rosenberg 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Justin De Fratus 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Pitching

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP
Joe Savery 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 1.00
Jonathan Papelbon 0-0 17 0 0 0 8 0 17.2 9 2 2 1 2 12 1.02 .62
Antonio Bastardo 2-1 19 0 0 0 0 2 15.1 13 5 4 2 9 16 2.35 1.43
Cliff Lee 5-2 13 10 1 1 0 0 72.2 61 22 20 5 13 55 2.48 1.02
Tyler Cloyd 1-0 2 2 0 0 0 0 13.1 10 4 4 0 5 9 2.70 1.13
Justin De Fratus 2-0 5 0 0 0 0 0 3.1 2 1 1 0 0 2 2.70 .60
Kyle Kendrick 4-2 9 9 1 1 0 0 60.2 56 19 19 6 14 41 2.82 1.15
Mike Adams 1-3 17 0 0 0 0 1 15.0 14 5 5 3 6 19 3.00 1.33
Jonathan Pettibone 3-0 6 6 0 0 0 0 36.0 36 13 12 5 11 21 3.00 1.31
Phillippe Aumont 1-3 16 0 0 0 0 0 13.0 17 8 6 0 10 15 4.15 2.08
Cole Hamels 1-7 10 10 0 0 0 0 62.2 56 31 31 9 24 57 4.45 1.28
Jeremy Horst 0-1 19 0 0 0 0 1 17.2 20 11 10 2 8 11 5.09 1.58
John Lannan 0-1 3 3 0 0 0 0 14.2 16 10 10 1 2 7 6.14 1.23
Raul Valdes 1-0 10 0 0 0 0 0 20.0 24 17 17 5 7 21 7.65 1.55
Chad Durbin 0-0 13 0 0 0 0 0 13.1 17 13 12 4 8 14 8.10 1.88
Roy Halladay 2-4 7 7 1 0 0 0 34.1 33 33 33 9 17 35 8.65 1.46
B.J. Rosenberg 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.1 6 4 4 0 1 2 15.43 3.00


Philadelphia Phillies Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
John Lannan knee 04/18/2013
Carlos Ruiz hamstring 05/20/2013
Chase Utley oblique 05/21/2013
Mike Adams back 05/11/2013
Roy Halladay shoulder 05/05/2013


NL East Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
Atlanta 28 18 .608 0 Won 6
Washington 24 23 .510 4.5 Won 1
Philadelphia 23 24 .489 5.5 Won 2
New York 17 27 .386 10 Lost 3
Miami 13 34 .276 15.5 Lost 2

(updated 5.24.2013 at 4:02 PM EDT)


TEMPERATURE CHECK (Last 7 Days)

Who's Hot

Ryan Howard (PHI): 7/17 (.421/.421/.529), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K
Erik Kratz (PHI): 5/15 (.333/.444/.523), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB

Leaving this blank for Washington. No one hitting over .280. Only two OPS over .800 (Zimmerman at 951 and LaRoche at 837).

Who's Cold
Delmon Young (I almost wrote Dmitri): 4/19 (.211/.286/.379), 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5 K
Michael Young (PHI): 5/22 (.227), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K

I'm tired of putting Danny Espinosa here, so let's spice it up.

Roger Bernadina/Tyler Moore "platoon": 1/22, 2 BB, 5 K
Denard Span is 6/27 with only one walk (.250 OBP) and Kurt Suzuki is also hitting .222 (4/18) with 4 K and all of his hits are singles.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Cole Hamels vs Stephen Strasburg

This usually would be a good matchup but Hamels has struggled this season with an ERA north of 4. Strasburg has actually pitched very well, the only difference being run support and his defense letting him down. Strasburg's numbers across the board are very similar to last season despite worries to the contrary. He had one of his best starts of the season against the Giants so that streak is currently at two.

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