The Washington Nationals (54-101), one of the lowest-scoring offenses in baseball, are set to host the Philadelphia Phillies (83-72) at Nationals Park on Friday for a four-game series-opening doubleheader. The Phillies are in the midst of a 10-game road trip. They were just swept in three games against the Cubs, dropping the finale 2-0 on Thursday at Wrigley Field for their fifth straight loss. Bryce Harper was 3 for 4. Nick Castellanos went 1 for 1. The Nationals are in the midst of a seven-game homestand. They lost two of three against the Braves in their last series, taking the finale 3-2 on Wednesday at Nationals Park. CJ Abrams went 3 for 5 with one run and one RBI.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Phillies have won 13 of 15 in the season series between the NL East rivals, including a 7-5 victory in their most recent meeting on September 11 at Citizens Bank Park. Reliever Jose Alvarado threw one scoreless inning to get the win, and David Robertson struck out the side in the ninth for his 19th save.
ON THE MOUND
Noah Syndergaard (9-10, 4.12 ERA) is in line for the start for Philadelphia in the second game of the doubleheader. The righty threw two scoreless innings in relief in his last appearance, a 4-3 road win over the Blue Jays on September 21. He gave up three hits while striking out two. Over two previous starts against the Nationals this season, Syndergaard has allowed seven earned runs over 11 innings (2-0, 5.73). He has struck out four and walked none. Righty Erick Fedde (6-11, 5.34 ERA) will toe the rubber for Washington. He has made one prior start against the Phillies this season, giving up four runs over 3.2 innings in an 8-5 road defeat on September 10. He gave up five hits and walked four, while striking out one in the loss. In his last start on Saturday, Fedde took the loss on the road against the Marlins. He threw 5.2 innings and gave up four runs on nine hits, striking out four and walking one in the 4-1 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
The Philadelphia offense is averaging 4.6 runs per game for the season, with a slash line of .254/.317/.423. J.T. Realmuto leads the team in OPS at .816. The catcher is slashing .274/.341/.475 with 21 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 73 runs over 134 games. Over the last five games, though, Philadelphia has averaged only 2.6 runs a game while performing worse across the board (.208/.277/.298). Against righties like Fedde this season, the Phils have a .729 OPS. Kyle Schwarber is the team’s best performer against right-handers with a .861 OPS in 363 at-bats. Washington is slashing .249/.311/.378 for the season and averaging 3.8 runs per game, fifth lowest in the league. Lane Thomas leads the team with a .717 OPS. The center fielder has 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 59 runs scored with a slash line of .246/.302/.415. Washington is averaging only 2.4 runs per game in the last five with their slash line dropping across the board (.202/.240/.294). The Nats have a .694 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .797 OPS over 331 at-bats, Luke Voit has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Philadelphia is on a seven-game losing streak on the road, bringing their record to 36-38 in 2022. The Phils have scored 4.3 runs per game away from home, while allowing 4.3 runs. Washington has gone 25-52 at their home ballpark this season, averaging 3.6 runs per game while surrendering 5.3. In the last 10 meetings at Nationals Park, Philadelphia is 9-1 with an average scoreline of 7.0-4.8.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Phillies are third in the NL East, 14 games behind the division-leading Mets. They currently occupy one of the Wild Card spots, sitting third with a magic number of zero. The Nationals are fifth in the NL East, 43 games behind the Mets.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Philadelphia Phillies
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
