Series Preview: Phillies @ Nationals

As I am writing this series preview the Nat's are only 1 game ahead of the Braves for first place.  They are only 3 games in front of Philly.  How did we get to this point?  Well losing 5 in a row before last night's come from behind win will do that to you.

The Phillies come into town and you can be sure they are going to be tons of annoying Phillies fans in National's Park over the weekend.  Here is how the series breaks down:

• Friday: 7:05 PM, Kendrick (0-2) vs Strasburg (2-0).
• Saturday: 1:05 PM, Worley (2-1) vs Gonzalez (2-1). *Caps playoff game is at 12:30PM*
• Sunday: 8:05 PM, Hamels (3-1) vs Zimmermann (1-2).

The game to watch this series has got to be Friday.  Look for Strasburg to shut up the legions of Phillies fans and set the tone for the rest of the weekend with a strong performance.  Combine that with Kendrick's rough start this season (6.59 ERA) and this game looks very winnable.

For this series, the Nat's really need to look to Kickstart their game.  They are still in first place, but the rest of the division is closing in.  Their pitching has been good enough to win us most games if our offense would wake up and score some runs.  So really they just need a Junior Kickstart!

(Instead of a bow, picture Ms. Pacman with a Nat's hat on.  The red ghost, the most annoying, is obviously a Phillies fan. )