April 7 – The Philadelphia Phillies have their first winning streak of 2024, and they’d like to add a series sweep Sunday afternoon in Washington.
The Phillies are looking for a three-game sweep of the Nationals after two days of dominant pitching.
“Focus on the pitcher at hand and be ready to hit the fastball,’ Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We can hit fastballs, and we can be a good team. Just focus on that.”
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Philadelphia posted a 4-0 victory in the series opener Friday and saw four pitchers combine on a four-hitter Saturday in a 5-2 triumph.
The Phillies like what they’re getting on the mound. On the flip side, the Nationals won’t win often without an increase in run production.
“We try to keep it as simple as possible,” Martinez said. … “Short and sweet and to the point, and hopefully they have a good day.”
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Much of the snags come from the pitch selections from the batters.
“We’ve just got to get the ball in the zone,” Martinez said. “There are some guys who are better right now, and there are a lot of guys who are just struggling because they’re just going up there and swinging at what they see.”
Washington is 1-4 on its homestand entering Sunday’s contest in advance of a nine-game swing on the West Coast.
“We just have to keep showing up and playing,” Nationals first baseman Joey Gallo said. “It’s a long season. I think we’re eight games in. You’ve just got to keep showing up and working.”
The Phillies, who have hit an average of one home run per game through eight games, have received stellar pitching in the two games in Washington.
“We’re getting ahead of hitters,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “Once you get ahead of hitters, they go on the defensive. We have a bunch of guys that have really good stuff.”
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The Phillies will send left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (0-0, 3.60 ERA) to the mound on Sunday. He held Cincinnati to two runs on five hits in last week’s first start of the year.
Sanchez is 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA in seven career outings vs. Washington.
The Nationals suffered a blow to their offense when shortstop CJ Abrams was scratched from Saturday’s lineup with a finger bruise following a slide into a base Friday. Through seven games, he’s batting .321 with two home runs.
In Abrams’ place, Nasim Nunez played shortstop for his first start in the major leagues.
“If he can’t play (Sunday), then, yeah, I’ll be a little bit concerned,” Martinez said of Abrams.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (0-0. 5.06 ERA) will start for the Nationals. He gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings to Pittsburgh in his season debut on Monday.
Gore is 0-3 with a 6.65 ERA all-time against the Phillies, giving up five home runs in five games.
Meanwhile, Gallo launched his 200th career home run in Saturday’s game.
“Being able to say I hit 200 home runs in the big leagues is crazy to me,” he said.
