HEADLINE

Rolling Nationals look for another win at Phillies

Field Level Media

July 13, 2019 at 6:58 am.

The red-hot Washington Nationals will be looking for their 12th win in their last 14 games when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

The Nationals opened the second half of their season following the All-Star break the same way as they completed the first half. They’ll have a chance to clinch a series win against the Phillies with another win in the second game of a three-game set.

Washington closer Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Friday’s 4-0 victory, though it wasn’t a save situation.

After a sluggish start this season, the Nationals have continued to find ways to win.

“I can’t tell you how much I love being a part of this team,” Doolittle told reporters. “The way that we’ve battled over the last six weeks, really love coming together, picking each other up, grinding it out, it’s been fun.”

The Nationals will hand the ball to Patrick Corbin, who will be making his 19th start of the season. Corbin is 7-5 with a 3.34 ERA and has a stellar 0.96 ERA over his last four starts.

In that span, Corbin has allowed one run or fewer in each game, the longest streak of his career.

Corbin’s last start on Sunday was terrific, as he gave up five hits and no runs in seven scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals. Corbin struck out 11 and walked none.

“As a team, just to finish these how we did is awesome (compared) to where we were a couple months ago,” Corbin said after that victory. “We’re kind of where we want to be.”

Corbin is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA against the Phillies in five career starts.

The Phillies struggled mightily in Friday’s shutout loss by going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Maikel Franco had three hits, and Bryce Harper added two, but the offense had little punch.

If the Phillies hope to even the series, their ace, Aaron Nola, will have to lead the way. Nola, who was a Cy Young candidate last season, will be starting for the 20th time this season.

Nola is 8-2 with a 3.74 ERA, and he’s 2-1 with a 0.61 ERA over his last four starts.

On Sunday, Nola threw 6 2/3 innings against the New York Mets and allowed three hits and two runs (one earned). Nola had a no-hitter going for the first 5 1/3 innings. In fact, Nola had tossed 22 2/3 scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer to Pete Alonso, the recent Home Run Derby champion during All-Star weekend.

“My off-speed pitches were working pretty well,” Nola told reporters. “My fastball velocity didn’t feel great. My command wasn’t as good as the last start. I was throwing my off-speed for strikes — in and out of the zone — which helped.”

Nola is 4-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 17 career starts against Washington, including 11 runs (10 earned) allowed over 9 1/3 innings this year.

Outfielder Jay Bruce had a rare off night at the plate, going 0-for-4 on Friday. Bruce has 29 RBIs in 29 games for the Phillies since being acquired from the Seattle Mariners on June 2.

“Jay has been strong since he has been a member of the Phillies,” Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said. “He has come up with some huge hits for us. He has been special in the clutch.”