Philadelphia @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 4, 2014 ) Philadelphia 4, Washington 8

The Washington Nationals have flexed their offensive muscles at the expense of the reeling Philadelphia Phillies, outscoring their National League East rivals by a 15-4 margin in the first two games of their series. Washington vies to complete a sweep of cellar-dwelling Philadelphia on Thursday, when the teams reconvene at Nationals Park. Anthony Rendon belted his third homer in four games to highlight his three-hit performance in Washington's 8-4 triumph on Wednesday.

Denard Span is riding a six-game hitting streak and is 5-for-10 with four runs scored in the series but has gone just 3-for-16 in his career against Kyle Kendrick. That's perhaps the only solace for the Phillies, who have dropped a season-high five in a row and 11 of their last 15. To make matters worse for Philadelphia, Washington has scored at least five runs in four of the five outings by scheduled starter Doug Fister.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (1-5, 4.21 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Doug Fister (3-1, 3.34)

Kendrick followed up his lone victory of the season with another sub-par performance against the New York Mets in his last trip to the mound. The 29-year-old yielded four runs on eight hits in six innings en route to a no-decision on Saturday. Kendrick was blitzed in his last outing versus Washington, allowing two homers and six runs total in 4 1/3 frames to drop to 5-8 lifetime against the club.

Fister posted his third straight victory after permitting two runs on four hits in six innings of a 10-2 triumph over Texas on Saturday. The 30-year-old is 3-0 with a slim 2.13 ERA in his last four starts after yielding six runs on 21 hits in 25 1/3 frames. Fister excelled in his lone career start versus Philadelphia, allowing one run on three hits over eight stellar innings to pick up the win.

WALK-OFFS

1. Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins struck out four times for the first time in his career on Wednesday. He also fanned twice in three career at-bats versus Fister.

2. Washington 2B Danny Espinosa is 4-for-8 in the series, raising his batting average from .202 to .216.

3. Phillies OF Domonic Brown is riding a six-game hitting streak following a brutal 1-for-18 stretch in his previous seven contests.

PREDICTION: Nationals 7, Phillies 1