Washington Nationals: 5 storylines to watch as Phillies make final trip to DC
By Drew Douglas
First meeting since May 14
The Nationals and Phillies are both in the National League East, so they play each other a whopping 19 times. However, the schedule was weird this season and 12 of those matchups came in the first month and a half.
Despite being in the same division, the Nats and Phillies have not played each other since May 14. To put things into perspective, Chris Heisey (currently a free agent), Jeremy Hellickson (currently on the Orioles), Joaquin Benoit (currently on the Pirates), and Michael Saunders (currently on the Blue Jays) all appeared in the May 14 matchup.
Another significant difference between when the Nats last played the Phillies and now is the fact that only two of the current divisional leaders were leading their division on May 14: the Nats and Astros.
The Dodgers, dubbed the greatest team of all time and currently on pace for 109 wins, were in second place behind the Rockies. The Cubs, the defending world champions, were only half a game above .500 and were in fourth place in the NL Central.
Both the Nats and Phillies have regressed since May 14, but only the Nats had room to. On May 14, the Nats had a .649 winning percentage, as opposed to their current .609 winning percentage. The Phillies, on the other hand, had a minuscule .400 winning percentage on May 14, as opposed to their current winning percentage of .384. The Phillies are currently the second-worst team in the MLB, 1.5 games ahead of the Giants.
The Nats and Phillies played each other early and often this season, and their matchups were very competitive, with the Nats winning seven of the 12 games. The two teams haven’t seen each other in nearly four months, so it will be interesting to see how much has truly changed throughout the season.