Washington @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2014 ) Washington 2, Philadelphia 3

The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to show signs of life - and against some of the majors' best teams, to boot. With a 5-2 record on their seven-game homestand, the Phillies will take the field Tuesday looking to hand the Washington Nationals back-to-back losses for the first time in more than three weeks. After taking two of three from Seattle and St. Louis, Philadelphia received homers from Carlos Ruiz and Cody Asche and 12 strikeouts from A.J. Burnett in Monday's 3-2 triumph.

The Nationals will hand the ball to Gio Gonzalez, who is coming off his best start in nearly a month. The former All-Star held Arizona to four hits over seven scoreless innings his last time out and did not allow a home run for the sixth time in his last seven starts. The Phillies will turn to ace Cole Hamels, who has suffered only one loss in his last nine starts and will try to lead the team to its third straight series victory.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (6-9, 3.83 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Cole Hamels (7-6, 2.53)

Gonzalez has made two starts against the Phillies in 2014 - one outing ranking among his best and one among his worst of the season. His last matchup with Philadelphia was not a good one, as he yielded five runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 10-4 loss on July 31. Gonzalez has dominated Ryan Howard and Chase Utley throughout his career, holding Philadelphia's two veteran lefties to a combined 3-for-28 performance, including Howard's 0-for-11 mark that includes six strikeouts.

Hamels has not allowed more than three runs in a start since late May and had gone at least seven innings in seven straight outings before a five-inning performance against Seattle on Wednesday. One point of concern for Hamels may be his declining strikeout totals over his last six outings. The 2008 World Series MVP is 0-1 against Washington in two starts this season despite a 1.93 ERA and a .160 opponents' batting average.

WALK-OFFS

1. Nationals OF Scott Hairston has been a longtime nemesis for Hamels, posting a .386 batting average with five homers in 44 career at-bats.

2. Washington, which has not lost back-to-back games since Aug. 4-5, leads Atlanta by 7 1/2 games in the National League East.

3. Utley went 0-for-4 on Monday and is mired in a 3-for-29 slump.

PREDICTION: Phillies 4, Nationals 2