Phillies (5-4) at Nationals (5-4) Preview - philliesfan136's Dynasty

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Phillies (5-4) at Nationals (5-4) Preview

Posted on July 5, 2011 at 11:31 AM.

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PHILADELPHIA-After Cliff Lee and the bullpen got lit up in a late-inning loss in Game 1 of three against Atlanta, the Phillies redeemed themselves by taking the next two. They ended the series with a 5-4 record going into D.C. where they'll face another NL East rival in the Nationals. The big story of the offseason, of course, was the Nats' blockbuster signing of Jayson Werth to a 7 year-97.60 million-dollar deal. The Phillies had one of their own in Cliff Lee, who the Nationals will see in the finale of this series. Besides Werth, the Nationals, who have the same record as the Phillies, have plenty of young players that are coming into their own as viable big-leaguers, such as Wilson Ramos,Danny Espinosa, and Ian Desmond as well as 29-year-old Mike Morse. All in all, the Nationals' hitters are a good mix of veterans and youngsters who, when hot, can score runs. Unfortunately for the Nationals though, even if they manage to defeat Joe Blanton in the first game, they'll have to face back-to-back aces in the next two in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Speaking of Blanton, here's a review of his and his Nationals counterpart's stats through the first week and a half or so of the season:

Phillies at Nationals:Tale of the Tape
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RHP Joe Blanton
4/6 vs Mets: 6.2 IP,5 H,4 K (L 0-4)

VS

RHP Jordan Zimmermann
4/11 VS Bisons (AAA): 6 1/3 IP,5 H,2 R,7 K, 1 BB (W 3-2)

Tom Gorzelanny was scheduled to pitch this game after the Nationals changed up their rotation order and their bullpen, but he had pitched 6 innings against the Mets right before the day off.Instead of skipping to another pitcher,Jordan Zimmermann was recalled from AAA Syracuse to make the start in what will be his season debut. He wasn't a part of the Nationals Opening Day rotation, so he was in AAA and was probably recalled just for this game. The confusion will be settled after this game, and the Nationals expect their rotation order to be back on track.
As for Blanton, he looks to earn his first win of the season after taking a no-decision in a 4-0 loss to the Mets.
This looks like a matchup between two vulnerable pitchers who could easily be lit up or throw a complete game. It could go either way, and it seems the offenses will decide who wins this one.

And with that, let's look at how the lineups stack up for both teams:

Starting Lineups
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Phillies
Jimmy Rollins SS
Shane Victorino CF
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Domonic Brown RF
John Mayberry Jr. LF
Brian Schneider C
Wilson Valdez 3B
Joe Blanton P

at

Nationals
Ian Desmond SS
Laynce Nix CF
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Jayson Werth RF
Adam LaRoche 1B
Wilson Ramos C
Danny Espinosa 2B
Roger Bernadina LF
Jordan Zimmermann P

Jayson Werth faces the Phillies for the first time since joining the Nationals, and he's batting cleanup for the Nationals after batting mostly 5th and 6th in his three years with Philadelphia. Werth isn't the only Nationals hitter that the Phillies have to look out for though, along with perennial Gold Glover Ryan Zimmerman (who is batting .382) and up-and-coming rookies Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa. The Nationals also have a nice bench, with players such as veterans Rick Ankiel and Jerry Hairston, as well as 1st baseman/corner outfielder Mike Morse and C Jesus Flores available. The Phillies, meanwhile, altered their lineup a bit, with Wilson Valdez and Brian Schneider both making their second starts of the season. John Mayberry Jr. also starts today in left field, in place of Ben Francisco. Raul Ibanez will come of the disabled list soon, though. It's an interesting situation to watch, because as we know, Ibanez will quickly be gotten rid of if he doesn't contribute. Chase Utley and Domonic Brown are hitting well to start off the season, and there's a good chance that they can keep it going with young Jordan Zimmermann on the mound.

Summary
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Phillies face Jayson Werth. Chase Utley and Dom Brown are hot.
Two pitchers face off that could pitch very good or very bad. This game is probably decided by the amount of runs scored and by the bullpen holding whatever lead either team has.

This has been our Phillies-Nationals Game 1 preview. The final score and stats will come up next.