In a rubber match for the series yesterday afternoon, the Nationals hung around against the Rays, taking a 3-2 lead into the 7th inning, but were unable to hold onto it, as a Jonny DeLuca 2-run blast off Orlando Ribalta in the bottom of the 7th gave the Rays a 1-run lead they would hold onto for the 4-3 win. The Nats didn’t play bad baseball by any means this series, but still were only able to take 1 of the 3 games, bringing them to 40-38 on the season, now a half game back of the third wild card spot in the National League.
Heading home after a short weekend road trip, the Nats are now faced with what is, for my money, one of their most critical series of the entire decade so far. Having blown away everyone’s expectations so far for where they would be in the standings by late June, the Nats now will do battle with the Phillies in a 4-game set at home, one that could set the tone for the rest of the season.
Take 3 out of 4 (or better), and you bring yourself right next to or above the Phillies in playoff positioning, while sending a message this team is for real. Take only 1 out of 4 (or worse), and playoff dreams start to go back to “just wishful thinking”.
The Phillies are riding some good vibes into this series, having just taken the weekend series from the Mets, which included both a Bryce Harper cycle and a Kyle Schwarber 3 home run game in the 15-3 win on Saturday. The offense hasn’t always been there at times for them this season, with the 4th fewest runs scored as a team in the NL, but the pitching staff has been strong, led by Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sanchez.
Game One – Monday 6:45 PM EST
After sending down Andrew Painter a few days ago, who had an ERA that started with a 7, the Phillies will have to get creative with their pitching tonight. Fangraphs lists RHP Alan Rangel, who has a 3.99 ERA in Triple A this season, as the probable starter, though no announcement has come of him joining the big league club yet.
WSH: LHP Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.32 ERA)
Game Two – Tuesday 6:45 PM EST
PHI: Jesus Luzardo (6-4, 4.20 ERA)
WSH: RHP Zack Littell (6-6, 5.45 ERA)
Luzardo had one of his better outings of the season last time out, throwing 7 innings of 2-run ball and striking out 9 Marlins in a win
Littell has run into trouble in his last 2 outings after a string of good ones, giving up a combined 9 runs, including 4 over 5 innings against the Royals.
Game Three – Wednesday 6:45 PM EST
PHI: RHP Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.71 ERA)
WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (2-6, 5.47 ERA)
Nola hasn’t always been reliable for the Phillies in 2026, but he got the job done his last time out, with 5 innings of 2-run ball against the Mets in a no-decision.
Mikolas had been rolling in the month of June, but he ran into trouble in his last start against the Rays, giving up 5 runs over 6 innings of work in a loss.
Game Four – Thursday 6:45 PM EST
PHI: LHP Cristopher Sanchez (9-3, 1.80 ERA)
WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07 ERA)
After carrying a scoreless innings streak up to 50 2/3 innings, Sanchez has come back to Earth a little, which still means for him 6 innings of 1 run ball in a win in his last start.
After being moved back from his Friday start to Saturday due to illness, it was clear Cavalli wasn’t 100% still, giving up 2 runs and walking 3 batters over 2 2/3 innings pitched.
The Phillies have their rotation lined up for games 2 through 4 of this series, but not tonight, as they likely will call up a starter from Triple A and hope they can get them through enough innings to save the bullpen for the rest of the series. It is critical that the Nationals’ lineup gets going early tonight and forces the Phillies to go to the pen early and burn through arms. Secure a big win tonight, and you only need to take 1 of the next 3 to secure at least a series split.