The Washington Nationals (49-89) take one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the National League on the road to face the Philadelphia Phillies (75-62) at Citizens Bank Park on Friday to open a three-game series. The Nationals are kicking off the final series of their 10-game road trip. They split their last series against the Cardinals, taking the finale 11-6 on Thursday at Busch Stadium. Alex Call was 4 for 5 with a home run and a double. He scored two runs and drove in five. Luke Voit added a double and two runs. The Phillies are in the midst of a six-game homestand. They won two of three against the Marlins in their last series, dropping the finale 6-5 on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. Bryson Stott went 3 for 4 with a double and one RBI. Alec Bohm added a triple and a double. He scored one run and drove in two.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Phillies have won 10 of 12 in the season series between the NL East rivals, including a 13-1 victory in their most recent meeting on August 7 at Citizens Bank Park. Starter Aaron Nola went six innings to get the win, allowing one run on five hits.
ON THE MOUND
Patrick Corbin (6-17, 6.56 ERA) is in line to take the mound for Washington. The lefty allowed one run over seven innings in his last start, a 7-1 road win over the Mets on Saturday. He earned the win, scattering three hits while striking out five and walking one. Over two previous starts against the Phillies this season, Corbin has allowed eight earned runs over four innings (0-2, 18.00). He has struck out two and walked three. Righty Noah Syndergaard (8-9, 4.07 ERA) gets the start for Philadelphia. Syndergaard went the distance for a complete game in his only prior start against the Nationals this season, a 5-4 home victory on August 4. He allowed four runs on 11 hits en route to the win. In his last start on Saturday, Syndergaard took a no-decision on the road against the Giants. He threw 4.1 innings and gave up four runs (3 ER) on seven hits, striking out three and walking one in the 5-4 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
The Washington offense is averaging 3.9 runs per game for the season, third lowest in the NL, with a slash line of .250/.315/.379. Lane Thomas leads the team in OPS at .718. The center fielder is slashing .245/.302/.416 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, and 51 runs over 123 games. Over the last five games, however, Washington has averaged 6.0 runs a game while slashing better across the board (.326/.380/.462). Against right-handed pitchers like Syndergaard this season, the Nats have a .699 OPS. Keibert Ruiz is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a .701 OPS in 298 at-bats. Philadelphia is slashing .254/.317/.421 for the season and averaging 4.7 runs per game. Rhys Hoskins leads the team with a .804 OPS. The first baseman has 26 home runs, 66 RBIs, and 72 runs scored with a slash line of .249/.339/.465. The Phils have a .776 OPS against southpaws in 2022, fifth highest in MLB. With a .998 OPS over 128 at-bats, Hoskins also has been their best hitter against left-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Washington is 27-42 in road games in 2022, scoring 4.0 runs per game while allowing 5.3 runs. Philadelphia has gone 41-31 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 4.7 runs per game while surrendering 4.0. Philadelphia is 7-3 in the last 10 games at Citizens Bank Park between the teams with an average scoreline of 7.0-3.5.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Nationals are fifth in the NL East, 38 games behind the division-leading Mets. The Phillies are third in the NL East, 11 games behind the Mets. They currently occupy one of the Wild Card spots, sitting second.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Philadelphia Phillies (-190)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
