Nationals looking to play spoiler for rival Phillies

The Washington Nationals will mercifully put an end to their 2024 season this weekend, with just 3 games remaining. As for their opponent? Look no further than NL East Champion and division rival Philadelphia Phillies, who will be coming to town in hopes of being able to put themselves in a position to earn the first overall seed in the National League.

Philadelphia comes into the weekend series trailing by 1 game to the NL West Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and will need a little bit of help to take the first spot in the NL away from them, and have the postseason run through Philadelphia. The Dodgers will face off against the Colorado Rockies this weekend, so neither team is expected to really be underdogs in any of their games to finish the regular season.

As for what to expect, well, let's just say it's going to be a challenge for the Nats. The team is 2-8 against the Phillies this season, and of course, they will have to face off against their 3 best pitchers in lefty Ranger Suárez, righty and presumed Cy Young finalist Zack Wheeler, and stud righty Aaron Nola.

Game 1: Friday @ 6:45 PM EST

Suárez brings his 12-7 record and 3.15 ERA into Friday night's game against Trevor Williams, making his second start back from the IL, who carries a 5-1 record and 2.19 ERA this season into the matchup. The Nats have actually had some success against Suárez, with Joey Gallo, Stone Garrett, and Ildemaro Vargas all having homered off of him previously. The Phillies have some success of their own off of Williams, with Nicholas Castellanos, Trea Turner, and JT Realmuto all having done damage off the righty. None of them compare to Kyle Schwarber, who has homered 6 times in 44 at-bats off of Williams.

Game 2: Saturday @ 4:05 PM EST

Saturday afternoon's game will feature Zack Wheeler of the Phillies, with a 16-7 record and 2.56 ERA, against MacKenzie Gore of the Nats, with a 10-12 record and 4.04 ERA coming into the afternoon. The Phillies have been a team that Gore has typically struggled against in his career, but Saturday offers a great opportunity to finish the season on a high note for the lefty who has been inconsistent at best this season. I said Gore had a lot to prove as the season came to a close, and this start could be nice for the optics if he could bring his season ERA below 4.00, but we shall see. On the flip side, the Nats have mostly struggled against Zack Wheeler, with only Keibert Ruiz seeing major success with 2 homers and 5 RBIs against him in 22 at-bats.

Game 3: Sunday @ 3:05 PM EST

The final game of the 2024 season for the Nats will see the hometown team send Jake Irvin to the mound against Aaron Nola of the Phillies. Irvin, with a 10-13 record and 4.22 ERA, has also struggled against the Phillies, and it will be interesting to see if trends persist in this game. Nola, with a 13-8 record and 3.52 ERA, has not really struggled against any Nats players currently on the club, and will be looking to close out his regular season in style.

Something to note for any Nats fans in attendance or watching from home: these next 3 games will be the final times we will see the club wearing their City Connect Cherry Blossom uniforms, as they will be retired after the season. While this is certainly not a move that I agree with given their popularity and overall appeal, it will be interesting to see if the club gets an updated city connect next season...perhaps a pink look?

The Nats will be looking to break the 70-win mark for the second straight season, and need just 1 win to do so. If they were to win 2 games they would tie last season's mark of 71 wins, and a series sweep would exceed the team's record from last year, and give them 72 on the year.

Do you think the Nats will take any of the 3 remaining games to close out the season? As always, please let me know on X @DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MLB.com.