Washington @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 21, 2011 ) Washington 7, Philadelphia 5

THE STORY: Sure, the Philadelphia Phillies have already punched their ticket to the postseason and the Washington Nationals are headed toward some time on the golf course. Ironically, both teams are playing like the other should be. Mired in a season-worst five-game losing skid, the Phillies will look to salvage the finale of a four-game set against the Nationals on Thursday. For its part, Washington has won 10 of its last 13 overall – and nine of the 17 meetings this season between the National League East rivals.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Brad Peacock (1-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Roy Oswalt (8-9, 3.66 ERA).

Peacock certainly made the most of his first career start. The 23-year-old rookie scattered two hits over five innings as the Nationals posted a 2-0 triumph over the New York Mets on Sept. 14. That effort far surpassed his only other major league appearance. He yielded a run on four hits in 1 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 6.

Oswalt is doing his best to get into postseason form. The 34-year-old Mississippi native yielded just five hits and struck out seven over seven scoreless innings in Saturday's 9-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The victory clinched the Phillies' fifth consecutive NL East title and is also the last time they've won a game. Oswalt defeated the Nationals twice in August.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (75-79): Considering Washington has been saddled with baseball’s worst record over the last two years, Davey Johnson's club isn't half bad. Well, statistically, the Nationals are inching closer to a level record – and they can thank Danny Espinosa for his recent torrid streak. The rookie went deep for the second time in as many games when he belted his 21st homer of the season in Wednesday's 7-5 victory. Espinosa extended his hitting streak to 10 games with the blast, collecting 15 hits over that stretch. Espinosa has struggled versus Oswalt, going 3-for-13 with six strikeouts. Wilson Ramos homered and drove in a career-high four runs in Wednesday's triumph.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (98-57): Philadelphia's top four hitters – Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Chase Utley – went a combined 0-for-16 on Wednesday. Speaking of power outages, the Phillies have been blanked twice during this five-game skid and have lacked considerable pop in their lineup. Part of that problem stems from the absences of Ryan Howard and Hunter Pence. Howard continued to sit out with bursitis in his ankle while Pence missed the game with a knee injury. Both are expected back for this weekend's series against the New York Mets. John Mayberry Jr. had three hits, including a two-run homer, and scored twice for Philadelphia, which dropped five consecutive games for the first time since May 22-27, 2010.

FINAL PITCH: "We definitely need to have our team ready and I plan on our team being ready." – Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.