Mar 28, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The season is not even two weeks old, but the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals have already had some prime-time pitching matchups.
That will continue Tuesday night in Philadelphia when the Phillies’ Aaron Nola (1-0, 7.00 ERA) will face the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 2.84).
Strasburg has allowed eight hits or fewer in each of his past 53 starts, the longest stretch in franchise history and tied for the third-longest active streak in the majors. The right-hander is 12-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 24 career starts against the Phillies.
The Nationals have had good success against Nola, who finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting last year.
The right-hander gave up a career-high-tying three homers in his start against Washington last Wednesday, allowing two homers in the first inning. He wound up allowing six runs on five hits in three innings during a no-decision, with the Nationals eventually winning 9-8.
Nola is 4-5 with a 4.07 ERA in 16 career starts against the Nationals.
Washington will try to bounce back after taking a 4-3 loss in the series opener Monday at Philadelphia.
Rhys Hoskins hit two solo homers for the Phillies. He broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with a solo shot off Anibal Sanchez, then added an insurance run in the eighth with a homer off Justin Miller.
“He’s selectively aggressive,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Hoskins. “And when he’s swinging the bat like this, it seems like when he’s on the barrel, it’s up in the air at a really good angle.
“And, look, those balls are not clipped the way he can clip a baseball, but they still have the right trajectory and they’re still on the sweet spot of the bat and he’s so big and strong and selective that he’s one of the more dangerous hitters in baseball.”
Washington has dropped two of three so far this year to the Phillies, who have played seven of their nine games at home.
“We had some good at-bats. We hit balls hard,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of the Monday game. “We just have to come back tomorrow and be ready to play tomorrow and hopefully score some runs.”
The Nationals got a homer in the ninth from second baseman Brian Dozier, who entered the game hitting .080 with no RBIs.
“That’s great. We need him,” Martinez said. “He is going to hit his share of home runs.”
Dozier said, “Playing a number of years, you know you can have a bad week or something in August and it doesn’t really mean that much. But when it gets off to a bad week at the beginning, it kind of gets scrutinized. But look up and if it’s the same thing in October, then we’ll talk. We’ll be fine.”
Philadelphia right fielder Bryce Harper, who spent seven years in Washington, has reached base in his first nine games with his new team while drawing 11 walks. However, was 0-for-3 with a walk in the Monday win, leaving him just 2-for-13 in the past four games.
Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor was activated off the injured list Monday but didn’t get into the game. He had been out since he incurred a left hip/knee injury nearly four weeks ago in spring training.
