Washington @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 14, 2010 ) Washington 7, Philadelphia 14

The Philadelphia Phillies placed leadoff hitter/shortstop Jimmy Rollins on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a calf strain, and right fielder Jayson Werth was sidelined with a sore hip. Those are two of the team’s key players, and no one likes to lose those kind of people from their lineup. It didn’t seem to hurt Philadelphia much on Wednesday as the Phillies banged out 14 hits in a 14-7 rout of the Washington Nationals. The reason for all those hits is the reason why the Nationals will have problems slowing the Phillies in the series finale on Thursday afternoon – Philadelphia is very deep offensively. That’s something the Phillies have been showing the Nationals in all five meetings. Philadelphia has won four of the five games, scoring a total of 45 runs. The Phillies even scored five runs in the one game Washington won between the two teams. Shane Victorino moved into the leadoff spot to replace Rollins and, even though he came into the game with a .200 average, went 4-for-5 with five RBIs. Victorino had a home run, triple and two singles on Wednesday. Rollins is a tough player to replace, but Victorino ensured that the Phillies didn’t miss a beat. Placido Polanco kept up his hot start by going 2-for-4 and now has a sizzling .486 average. Ryan Howard went 2-for-4, and the Phillies just keep on hitting – which is why a struggling Washington staff can’t stop them. The Nationals have had just one starting pitcher make it past five innings this season - Livan Hernandez went seven in Sunday’s win against the New York Mets - and they came into Wednesday’s game ranked next-to-last in the National League in team ERA. Washington will need a good performance from starter Scott Olsen, who is returning to the team after being sent to the minors at the end of spring training. They'll need some success from Olsen to take pressure off a bullpen that’s pitched well at times. But Washington’s biggest problem is that the Phillies have arguably the best lineup in Major League Baseball, the main reason they’re winning with Rollins and Werth out.