The Washington Nationals enter their Tuesday series opener in Philadelphia on the heels of a humbling defeat, and they will be challenged to get back on track as they face Phillies ace Zack Wheeler.
Washington won two of three against the New York Mets over the weekend before absorbing a 19-5 setback in series finale on Monday. The Nationals allowed 16 runs over the final four innings — at least three in each of those frames — as home runs by James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe went to waste.
“Everyone loves to use that term ‘rebuilding,’ but we are confident in this group,” Washington catcher Riley Adams said. “From (manager Dave Martinez) to the front office to the players and everybody — we believe in each other, believe in our group. We just have that confidence.”
Martinez’s crew will aim to recover against Wheeler (2-1, 3.62 ERA), who has settled down nicely over his past two starts following a pair of uncharacteristically bumpy outings. He has given up four runs over 13 innings in his past two turns, striking out 22 while walking only two.
“We know what type of team we are,” Wheeler said after his latest start — a no-decision in a 4-3, extra-inning loss to the Mets on Wednesday that completed a three-game sweep by New York. “We know how good we are. We just got to play better and play more consistent. All around, everybody, including us starters. So it’s just a matter of doing it.”
The Phillies did play more consistently in Chicago over the weekend, particularly in the last two games. They snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday with a 10-4 victory over the Cubs, then earned a 3-1, 10-inning win in rubber match on Sunday.
“We were just looking for a break,” said Trea Turner, who had three hits and knocked in two runs in the series finale. “Sometimes you need things to fall your way to build some momentum. Sometimes you need a little light at the end of the tunnel to build that confidence. Hopefully that’s the start of some pretty good baseball.”
Wheeler has given up exactly one home run in all six of his starts, including against Washington on Opening Day. On March 27, he yielded one run — a homer by Keibert Ruiz — and two hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked two in a game that the Phillies ultimately won 7-3 in 10 innings.
The veteran right-hander is surprisingly below .500 against the Nationals for his career: 14-15 with a 4.37 ERA in 36 starts.
In particular, Wheeler has struggled against Nationals DH Josh Bell over the years. In 40 at-bats against Wheeler, Bell is hitting .300 with four homers and nine RBIs.
MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.34 ERA) gets the ball for the Nationals, having allowed exactly two runs in six innings in three of his last four starts. One of those outings came Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles, and he received minimal run support in a 2-1 defeat.
Gore faced the Phillies on Opening Day, yielding only one hit and no walks over six scoreless innings while striking out 13 strikeouts.
In 10 career games (nine starts) against Philadelphia, Gore is 1-4 with a 4.38 ERA.
–Field Level Media
