Phillies vs. Nationals Preview
Washington, D.C. (AP) – Jayson Werth helped Philadelphia win the 2008 World Series and capture the last four NL East titles.
In the offseason, he left the Phillies, who again have championship aspirations, to join Washington and help turn around a franchise that has finished last in the East six of the last seven years.
To become a contender, however, the Nationals need to end their struggles against Philadelphia.
In his first game against his former team, Werth looks to lead Washington to a rare win over the Phillies in Tuesday night’s series opener at Nationals Park.
According to MLB odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Phillies -125 money line favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Nationals. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 87% of more than 205 bets for this game have been placed on the Phillies.
Werth signed a seven-year, $126 million free-agent contract with the Nationals (4-5) in December after batting .296 with 27 homers, 85 RBIs and an NL-best 46 doubles for Philadelphia in 2010.
The deal seemed rather large for a player with only one All-Star appearance, and the Phillies (7-2) didn’t make much of an effort to keep him.
Werth is off to a slow start with his new team, batting .200 with a solo homer, three doubles and seven strikeouts. Although Washington is still waiting for Werth to heat up, the team is starting to turn things around.
The Nationals defeated the Mets 7-3 in 11 innings Sunday for their third win in four games after opening the season 1-4.
“I think it’s significant that we’re playing good baseball more than anything,” Sunday’s starting pitcher Jason Marquis said. “We started things off a bit sluggish.”
Building on this modest success, however, likely won’t be easy with the Phillies coming to town.
Philadelphia went 12-6 against the Nationals last season – winning five of the six series – and is 27-9 against them since 2009.
Ryan Howard led the Phillies against Washington in 2010, batting .310 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 15 games. Werth also played a big role, hitting .368 with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Howard is off to a fast start this year, batting .361 with two home runs and 11 RBIs, and Shane Victorino is also coming on strong.
Victorino had three hits – including his first homer of the season – in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Atlanta, for his fifth straight multihit game. The leadoff hitter is batting .565 with eight runs in helping Philadelphia win four of five.
“Shane is hot,” Charlie Manuel told the Phillies’ official website.
Victorino didn’t have much luck against Washington last season, however, batting .207 in 15 games. He also really struggled at Nationals Park, hitting .091 with just two singles in 22 at-bats.
Victorino has had some success against scheduled starter Livan Hernandez (0-1, 4.76 ERA), however, going 4 for 12 with a triple.
The Phillies counter with Joe Blanton (0-0, 14.54), who is looking to put an awful season debut behind him.
Blanton – the forgotten man in Philadelphia’s vaunted starting rotation – was pounded for seven runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings against the Mets on Wednesday, but the Phillies rallied to win 10-7.
“It didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” said the right-hander, who was 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts against Washington in 2010.
Hernandez hasn’t faced the Phillies since 2009 and has only made three starts against them since 2006. He is 11-10 with a 3.60 ERA in 27 career starts versus Philadelphia.
The veteran right-hander had a shaky outing against Florida on Wednesday, allowing four runs, six hits and five walks in five innings of a 7-4 loss but didn’t get a decision.
Bet Phillies vs. Nationals Odds
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!