The Philadelphia Phillies will look to split their two-game series against the host Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia continued its nine-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to Washington on Tuesday night. The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres also lost, leaving the Phillies in the second National League wild-card spot with 11 games remaining.
The Atlanta Braves won on Tuesday and moved 5 1/2 games clear of the second-place Phillies in the NL East.
The Phillies (83-68) suffered a blow off the field as well on Tuesday when left-hander Jesus Luzardo was placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to Sept. 12 so that Luzardo (14-5, 2.87 ERA) would be eligible to return on the final day of the regular season, in time for the playoffs, assuming the Phillies reach them.
“Ideally, the timeline does work out that way,” Luzardo said. “Obviously, we have to see where I’m at throwing-wise. But the plan is to be ready to go for October. And yeah, I feel fully confident.”
Washington (71-81) improved to 4-0 on its five-game homestand after enduring an 0-7 stretch. The Nationals have been eliminated from playoff contention.
“We’re setting our sights to create a sustained winner here,” manager Blake Butera said. “I think that starts with what we’re doing right now.”
Right-hander Zack Wheeler (12-5, 3.14 ERA) will start for the Phillies on Wednesday and will oppose rookie Jared Simpson (1-0, 6.75), who will serve as the opener in a bullpen game. Washington’s previously scheduled starter, Cade Cavalli, is being pushed back to Friday for additional rest.
Wheeler is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA over his past three starts, allowing one run in each outing. On Thursday, he gave up a run on five hits over seven innings of a no-decision in his team’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
The Phillies’ veteran is 14-15 with a 4.30 ERA in 38 career starts against the Nationals and will face them for the first time this season.
Simpson will make his fourth appearance since being called up from Triple-A Rochester at the beginning of the month. Last time out he faced three batters, each of whom walked and later scored.
Tuesday’s game was tied 3-3 in the seventh when pinch hitter Daylen Lile hit a three-run homer and the Nationals bullpen closed the victory. It was Lile’s 21st home run of the season, and he has driven in 85 runs.
“It was very exciting,” he said. “I know there’s been a lot of moments this year where I didn’t come through for the team or just didn’t pass it down the line, but today felt good.”
Lile is batting .304 (24-for-79) with four doubles, three triples, six homers, 15 runs and 20 RBIs in 23 games since Aug. 21.
For the Phillies, who have lost four of their past five games, Kyle Schwarber hit his MLB-leading 45th homer of the season on Tuesday. He also walked and scored twice. Luis Arraez doubled twice and walked, but Philadelphia managed just five hits.
“We didn’t do anything, honestly,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We didn’t really create traffic. We didn’t have a lot of chances.”
And starter Cristopher Sanchez’s recent struggles continued. He gave up five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, with five strikeouts and two walks.
–Field Level Media
