NL East Showdown: Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies 2t5q4s

Officially sellers after dealing Matt Adams to the Cardinals and Daniel Murphy to the Cubs, all is not well for the Nats. They don’t seem interested, therefore, in keeping Bryce Harper around beyond this season.

The Phillies on the other have struggled a lot of late. They are currently trailing the Braves for the top spot in the division, and have some work to do in order to improve. The Washington Nationals are slight favorites in this game.

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Washington Nationals 4c3x73

After trading Daniel Murphy to the Cubs, it was official that the Nats were sellers. On the bright side, Bryce Harper has had a terrific second half of the season and is leading the team with 30 HR’s and 84 RBI’s. Ryan Zimmerman has been on a recent tear, launching walk-off home runs like he has done all career long. Juan Soto has kept his impressive pace and is batting .293, and is recording more than a hit per game. If Harper is to leave after the year, this will be a team led by Trea Turner and Juan Soto in the long-term.

Max Scherzer’s last start actually came against Aaron Nola, and so will this one. He allowed two runs on two hits over seven innings with 10 K’s, but he got no run . A leading candidate for the NL Cy Young once again, Scherzer has posted a 16-6 record with a 2.13 ERA in 181 2/3 innings of work. He has struck out 244 batters while walking 45.

Philadelphia Phillies 321ru

After a solid start to the year, the Phillies have cooled down. They are going to need to go on something of a run in order to salvage their playoff hopes. Rhys Hoskins however, in the second half of the season, has been dominant. He’s hit 27 home runs while driving in 82 runs. Wilson Ramos has been a beast in his seven games here, with 13 hits in 29 at bats, already with eight RBI’s. Their pitching has been solid this year, though it will have to be a little bit better. Asdrubal Cabrera has not had the same success here as he did in NY, but he’s been ok.

They will send Aaron Nola to the mound for his 27th start of the year, and second straight against Scherzer. He fired eight innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits, while striking out nine Nats his last time out. He has posted a 15-3 record to go along with a 2.13 ERA in 169 innings of work. He has struck out 169 batters while walking 45.

Scherzer gets even, Nats win 5f6r5

This is a good day for the Nationals, as this win will take them back over .500. While they are a longshot to get to the postseason, it will feel good to be a Nats fan for a day.

Scherzer will outpitch Aaron Nola this time around, and it will be the Phillies offense that will struggle.

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