Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies Preview (4/26-4/28)

After sweeping the Minnesota Twins, the Washington Nationals will begin a three game series against the Phillies

 It was a wild weekend for the Washington Nationals (14-4) as they found a way to sweep the Minnesota Twins at Nats Park. On Saturday, Tanner Roark struck out 15 Twins in a 2-0 win and on Sunday, the Nats won a 16-inning marathon, which ended on a walk-off home run by Chris Heisey.

At 14-4, the Washington Nationals have their best record through the first 18 games since 2012, when that team started with the same record. The Nats have the best record in baseball and terms of winning percentage and they are on a seven game home winning streak.

Tonight, they will look to extend that winning streak when they begin a three game series against the Philadelphia Phillies (9-10). Earlier this month, the Nats took two out of three from the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and were a Jonathan Papelbon blown save away from sweeping the series. Plus, Bryce Harper homered in every single game.

Since that weekend series, the Phillies are 3-3 after losing two out of three home games against the Mets and won two out of three road games against the Brewers. So far, third baseman Maikel Franco leads the Phillies in batting average (.296), home runs (five), and RBI’s (13). However, the Phillies’ 62 runs scored are the second fewest in the National League (Braves have 61).

On the mound, the Phillies’ rotation has a 3.82 ERA, which is the fifth lowest ERA in the NL (Nats have the second lowest at 2.38). But, their staff leads the NL in strikeouts (126). That being said, their bullpen ERA of 5.22 is 12^th in the NL, even though Jeanmar Gomez is 4-for-4 in save chances.

Here is my breakdown of the three pitching matchups in this series:

Next: Tonight's Matchup

Vincent Velasquez (2-1, 0.93 ERA) vs. Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.32) – 7:05 p.m ET, broadcast on MASN

Velasquez was one of the pitchers that the Phillies acquired in the offseason trade with the Houston Astros for Ken Giles. So far, Philadelphia won that trade considering how bad Giles has been as the eighth inning guy for Houston.

The 23-year-old right-hander went 1-1 with a 4.37 ERA in 19 games for Houston last season. So far, with the Phillies, he has 29 strikeouts in three games, including 16 against the Padres back on April 14.

In his last outing against the Mets on April 19, he struggled as he went 4.1 innings, gave up two solo home runs on five hits, struck out four batters, and walked none. According to Fangraphs, he has an average fastball velocity of 94 miles per hour to go with a slider, curveball, and changeup.

Even though the Washington Nationals have had a good start from their rotation, it’s safe to say their ace, Max Scherzer, has been their worst starter so far. In his last start against the Marlins, Scherzer went five innings, gave up five runs on eight hits, struck out three, and walked two in the loss.

So far, the two main issues for Scherzer have been giving up the long ball (four home runs in four starts) and his slow starts to game. Out of the 12 runs he’s given up, six of them have occurred in the first inning (tied with Tanner Roark for most on the team and third in the National League).

However, Scherzer’s best start of the season came against the Phillies back on April 16. He went seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out seven, and walked one on 108 pitches in the win. Odubel Herrera is 4-for-15 against Scherzer with a RBI in his career.

Prediction: Even though its tough to pick against Scherzer, I think Velasquez is going to give the Washington Nationals lineup some difficulties. It will be a close games, but Scherzer’s first inning difficulties have me concerned a little bit. Philadelphia finds a way to win a close game and snaps the seven game home winning streak.

Next: Tomorrow's Matchup

Jeremy Hellickson (1-1, 5.21) vs. Gio Gonzalez (1-0, 1.42) – 7:05 p.m ET, MASN

After a good start to his Phillies’ career, Hellickson has struggled in his last two starts. In those two games, he has given up a combined 17 hits and he has not made it past the fifth inning. Against the Mets in his last start back on April 20, the 29-year-old right-hander went 4.1 innings, gave up four runs on ten hits, struck out six batters, and walked one. Plus, he has given up four home runs in his last three starts.

Just like Scherzer, Hellickson has his own first inning problems (five runs). All five of those runs came in the first inning against the Nats on April 15 when the Washington Nationals won 9-1. Jayson Werth is 3-for-8 against him with two doubles, a home run, and six RBI’s.

As for Gonzalez, his consistency continues to be the story in the first part of 2016. He has back-to-back starts in which he has put up eight strikeouts. In his last outing against the Twins, Gonzalez went six innings, gave up two earned runs on six hits, and picked up his first win of the year.

One of the problems Gonzalez had in the first two games was getting enough run support from the offense. However, in his start against the Phillies on April 17, he was great. In seven innings, the left-hander gave up one run on four hits, struck out eight, and walked two in a n-decision. The lone run came on a solo shot by Carlos Ruiz, who is 7-for-27 against him with that home run and five RBI’s.

Prediction: I think Gonzalez has another dominant start and the Washington Nationals offense gets to Hellickson again early in the game to provide the left-hander with the run support that he needs to pick up the win.

Next: Thursday's Matchup