Washington @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 22, 2010 ) Washington 0, Philadelphia 6
The Washington Nationals did the Philadelphia Phillies a favor by taking two of three games from the Atlanta Braves this week.
For their part, the NL East-leading Phillies (86-61) swept the Florida Marlins to extend their lead to three games over the second-place Braves.
Philadelphia will now turn its attention to the visiting Nationals (62-84), and Charlie Manuel's club doesn't plan on showing them any mercy with the red-hot Roy Oswalt (12-13, 2.94 ERA) on the mound.
As for that earlier show of good faith that Washington exhibited? Well, you know what they say - no good deed goes unpunished.
After struggling in his debut against the Nationals, Oswalt posted a 6-0 mark with a rail-thin 1.56 ERA in his subsequent next eight starts. The 33-year-old right-hander's last outing was arguably his best of the bunch as he held the New York Mets to four harmless singles en route to a complete-game shutout on Sunday.
Acquired from the Houston Astros for left-hander J.A. Happ and a pair of prospects, Oswalt is heating up at just the right time. The veteran hurler is set to make this start and then be slated for an appearance in a key series against the Braves next week. He will be joined by fellow studs Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.
Oswalt isn't the only Phillie racing toward the finish line. In fact, the entire team has been streaking down the home stretch.
Halladay became the National League's first 19-game winner and Wilson Valdez and Raul Ibanez had three hits and drove in two runs apiece as Philadelphia capped its sweep of Florida with a 10-5 triumph on Wednesday.
Chase Utley belted a solo homer, Ross Gload had a run-scoring double and Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Jayson Werth added RBI singles as the Phillies secured their eighth win in 10 games.
On Friday, Washington will counter with Jason Marquis (2-8, 6.60 ERA), who is getting more comfortable on the mound after missing three months due to elbow problems.
The right-hander is being hampered by little run support, however, as his last outing should've net him better results.
Marquis yielded two runs and struck out a season-high eight batters in six innings, but the Nationals dropped a 4-1 decision to the Marlins last Saturday.
Washington will be without outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who will begin serving an eight-game suspension rather than two separate penalties totaling 15 games, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.
Morgan appealed the separate suspensions, which were handed out a week apart. He was given a seven-game ban on Aug. 25 when he threw a baseball into the stands and hit a fan in Philadelphia. The second suspension came Sept. 3 after his considerable part in a brawl against the Marlins two days earlier.
The league determined that Morgan should serve one suspension instead of two, reducing the length of both bans to create one eight-game suspension.
The temperamental 30-year-old is hitting .258 with 23 RBIs and 33 stolen bases in 484 at-bats this season.