Phillies at Nationals (Game 2)
Mother Nature has done the Washington Nationals no favors over the last two days, but a rare break in the inclement weather on Tuesday unfortunately provided the opportunity for ace pitcher Max Scherzer to sustain a broken nose during a bunting drill. The Nationals aim to rebound from that setback as they attempt to salvage part of their series against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies with a doubleheader on Wednesday.
Matt Adams went deep for the second straight contest on Sunday by recording his ninth career multi-homer performance and driving in a career-high seven runs in Washington's 15-5 romp over Arizona. The 30-year-old aims to continue his hot hitting versus Philadelphia right-hander Jake Arrieta, against whom he is 9-for-25 with one homer and five RBIs. While the Nationals celebrated their 14th win in 21 games in style, the Phillies found themselves on the business end of a 15-1 beat-down by Atlanta on Sunday for their fifth loss in seven contests. Bryce Harper had an RBI single to hit safely for the ninth time in 11 games heading into a pivotal set versus his former team, against which he is 9-for-28 with two homers, seven RBIs and six runs scored this season.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Zach Eflin (6-6, 2.81 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Erick Fedde (1-1, 3.68)
Eflin fell to 1-3 in his last five starts last Wednesday despite allowing two runs on five hits while striking out a career high-tying nine batters in eight innings of a 2-0 setback to Arizona. The 25-year-old will look to get back on track versus Washington, against which he improved to 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA in five career encounters after permitting one run on four hits in seven innings of a 7-1 romp on May 5. Eflin also defeated the Nationals on April 2 after scattering three hits over five scoreless innings and fanning nine.
Fedde allowed season highs in runs (five) and homers (two) allowed on Thursday while matching campaign worsts in hits (six) and walks (three) in a 5-0 loss against Arizona. The 26-year-old has been taken deep four times in his last three trips to the mound after surrendering just one in his previous seven. Maikel Franco (3-for-5), Cesar Hernandez (4-for-8) and Scott Kingery (3-for-6) have all fared well versus Fedde, who sports a 2-1 mark with a 4.32 ERA in three starts (16 2/3 innings) against Philadelphia.
WALK-OFFS
1. Scherzer was in line to pitch one of Wednesday's games prior to Tuesday's rainout.
2. Kingery is 11-for-22 with four homers and eight RBIs in his past six contests.
3. The NL East rivals will play a split doubleheader on Sept. 24 in lieu of Tuesday's rainout.