Washington @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2016 ) Washington 3, Philadelphia 2

The Washington Nationals look to continue their dominance of the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday as the National League East rivals conclude their three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. First-place Washington has won a franchise high-tying eight straight encounters versus Philadelphia to improve its division record to 37-16, tops in the majors.

Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper has feasted on the Phillies this season, ripping a run-scoring double in Tuesday's 3-2 win to improve to 12-for-35 with three homers and nine RBIs against manager Pete Mackanin's club. Trea Turner is giving fits to many a team, as the speedy second baseman recorded his 15th multi-hit performance on Tuesday, is batting .357 in August and is 19-for-36 on his eight-game hitting streak. While Washington has answered a four-game skid by winning four of six to pad its lead atop the division, Philadelphia has dropped nine of its last 13 to quickly remove itself from even the fringes of the wild-card discussion. Odubel Herrera is 3-for-8 with a run scored in the series and has 11 hits in his last nine games.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), CSN Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (9-9, 4.25 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Adam Morgan (1-8, 6.50)

Gonzalez allowed two runs on four hits in six innings versus Colorado on Friday to improve to 5-1 with a 3.20 ERA in his last nine starts. The 30-year-old has yielded two earned runs or fewer in seven of those nine contests and kept the ball in the park in five of his last eight trips to the mound. Gonzalez owns a solid 8-6 career mark versus Philadelphia, but suffered a hard-luck loss in his last encounter despite permitting just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings in a 3-0 setback on April 27.

Morgan allowed three homers and six runs total in five innings for the second time in four outings on Friday in a 9-4 setback at the New York Mets. The lone bright spot for the 26-year-old was he struck out eight batters for the third time in nine outings. Morgan looks to avenge a porous outing versus Washington, against which he yielded six runs on nine hits in six innings of a 7-2 setback on June 1.

WALK-OFFS

1. Washington 2B Daniel Murphy, who is 3-for-8 in the series, has 12 hits in his last nine games.

2. Phillies 3B Maikel Franco is 0-for-8 in the series and 8-for-49 versus the Nationals this season.

3. Washington has won seven of eight at Citizens Bank Park in 2016.

PREDICTION: Nationals 7, Phillies 2