Phillies Head to Washington Hoping to Revitalize a Lifeless Offense

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to increase their slight lead for the final Wild Card spot in a crucial series against the Washington Nationals.

Leo Morgenstern | Sep 30, 2022

Phillies Head to Washington Hoping to Revitalize a Lifeless Offense /

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The Philadelphia Phillies need some wins, and they need them now. They were swept by the Chicago Cubs over the past three days, scoring only three runs in that time. Their lead in the NL Wild Card race slipped down to just half a game. In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, they all but need to win the upcoming series in Washington. And in order to do that, they need to start scoring some runs.

Thankfully, the Phillies are taking on the Nationals, against whom they have dominated the season series this year. Facing off against Washington and their league-worst pitching staff could be just what this team needs to finally get the offense going again. Here's a look at the pitching matchups for the next four games.

Game One: Friday 1:05 p.m. EDT - NBCSP | Bailey Falter vs. Erick Fedde

Philadelphia Phillies starter Bailey Falter / © Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Amid concerns about the weather this weekend, the double header scheduled for Saturday has been moved a day earlier. Bailey Falter will take the mound for the Phillies against Erick Fedde of the Nationals.

Falter was excellent in August and September, and slowly some quiet chatter began about his chances to start a postseason game for the Phillies. Unfortunately, he completely blew it in his last start, giving up six runs on ten hits and failing to escape the third inning. He will look to right this ship on Friday afternoon.

Thankfully, even if Falter can't find his best stuff, Philadelphia will have a good chance of winning the game. They have absolutely demolished Nationals starter Fedde over the years – he has a 6.19 ERA against the Phillies in 12 games.

Game Two: Friday 7:05 p.m. EDT - NBCSP | Noah Syndergaard vs. TBD'

Phillies New Starter Noah Syndergaard / © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Noah Syndergaard will take the mound in game two, his first start in over two weeks. He has only appeared once since then – he pitched two innings of relief against the Blue Jays – but he looked sharp in that outing, and hopefully the extra time off did his arm some good.

The Nationals have yet to announce their starting pitcher for game two, nor have they announced probable pitchers for the rest of the series. It is likely, however, that Philadelphia will see Aníbal Sánchez and Cory Abbott at some point this weekend. In theory, neither one should prove much of a challenge for the Phillies' offense, but with they way they've been hitting these days, nothing is a given.

Philadelphia will most likely avoid facing Patrick Corbin, who is having his turn in the rotation skipped, and Paolo Espino and Josiah Gray. Espino has been a solid contributor for Washington this season, so the Phillies will be better off without him on the mound.

Game Three: Saturday 1:05 p.m. EDT - NBCSP | Kyle Gibson vs. TBD

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Gibson / © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Gibson is having a rough, rough September, but hopefully he can get back on track in Washington. In his only start against the Nationals this year, he went eight innings and gave up just one run. The stakes are quite high for Gibson, who can still earn the fourth starter job for the postseason if he pitches well in this game, his final start of the regular season.

Game Four: Friday 1:35 p.m. EDT - NBCSP | Zack Wheeler vs. TBD

Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler / John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

In two starts since returning from the injured list, Zack Wheeler has pitched 10 innings, struck out eight, and allowed one run. He has looked sharp, but he is still working up to a full pitch count. This start against the Nationals will be his final one before the Wild Card series, so it will be very important to see how deep is is able to go.

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Published Sep 30, 2022

LEO MORGENSTERN

Leo Morgenstern is a writer and editor for Inside the Phillies. He also writes for FanGraphs and Just Baseball, and his work has appeared on Pitcher List and Baseball Prospectus. He previously covered the Phillies for SB Nation's The Good Phight. You can follow him on Twitter @morgensternmlb.