Thursday, October 1, 2026
73 ° Clear
73 ° Clear
The Philadelphia Phillies hit the road Monday to continue their stretch of 13 consecutive games against the NL East when they take the short trek to the nation’s capital to begin a four-game set against the Washington Nationals.
It marks the second time the two teams will meet in the first half of the season. The two foes battled each other at Citizens Bank Park during the second series of the season from March 30 to April 1. The Phillies took two of three games in the first meeting.
The two teams have been vastly different since that early season series.
Who: Philadelphia Phillies (42-35, 6.5 GB in NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (40-38, 9 GB in NL East)
When: Monday, 6:45 p.m., Tuesday, 6:45 p.m., Wednesday, 6:45 p.m., Thursday, 6:45 p.m.
Where: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
Pitching Probables:
Monday: RHP Tim Mayza (2-1, 2.97 ERA) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.32 ERA)
Tuesday: LHP Jesus Luzardo (6-4, 4.20 ERA) vs. Zack Littell (6-6, 5.45 ERA)
Wednesday: RHP Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.71 ERA) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (2-6, 5.47 ERA)
Thursday: LHP Cristopher Sancez (9-3, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07 ERA)
MORE: Phillies DFA Bryse Wilson, option Max Lazar
June has been a good month for a handful of Phillies hitters.
The Phillies are coming off a 4-2 homestand and own the best record in MLB since April 25 with a 34-17 record. The Phillies have also made some ground in the division race, now within shouting distance of the Atlanta Braves, sitting 6.5 games out of first place in the NL East.
Despite the controversy surrounding Bryce Harper’s correctly scored triple to become the 11th Phillie to hit for the cycle, Harper has been on fire thanks to his Ruthian bat he’s used in each of the last two games.
In case you missed it, Harper is swinging a 35-ounce bat, three ounces heavier than his typical 32-ounce lumber, and he has been unstoppable at the plate over the last two days. He fell a triple shy of the cycle in the team’s 6-2 series-clinching win against the New York Mets.
This is not going to be a rollover series from the Nationals. They are spunky and have the highest-scoring offense in all of baseball, scoring 416 total runs, good for a 5.3 runs per game average.
They are led by outfielder James Wood and shortstop C.J. Abrams.
Wood leads the majors in runs scored (68), is fourth in walks (60) and tied for sixth in home runs (20) and ranks in the top three in nearly every offensive category amongst NL outfielders.
VIDEO: We're WRONG About Orion Kerkering
Abrams is third in RBI (57) and 14th in OPS (.901) and the leading vote getter at shortstop on the All-Star ballot.
The Nationals’ pitching is what has done them in most this season. They enter the series tied for the third-highest batting average against (.257), the sixth-highest team ERA (4.64) and tied for the sixth-highest WHIP (1.39).
The Nationals are looking to bounce back from a weekend series loss at Tampa Bay, where they dropped two of three games against the Rays.
