Nationals Vs. Phillies Final Score: Washington Can't Pull The Sweep, Lose 4-1

The Washington Nationals are attempting to pull the sweep on the Philadelphia Phillies after winning the first two games in the series. Despite getting Ryan Zimmerman back in the lineup, the Nats struggled to plate runs, scoring just once in the game on an Adam LaRoche solo home run. In Zimmerman's return, he went just 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Cole Hamels pitched eight innings, allowing just four hits and striking out eight batters on the night. Edwin Jackson pitched seven innings for the Nats, giving up seven hits and three earned runs. The Nats fail to pick up the sweep, going down 4-1 to the Phillies in the final game of the series.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Score Update: Philadelphia Leads 2-0

The Washington Nationals are attempting to pull the sweep on the Philadelphia Phillies after winning the first two games in the series and getting Ryan Zimmerback in the lineup, but after four innings the Nats trail the Phillies 2-0.

Cole Hamels has walked three batters so far in the game, but hasn't given up a single hit yet. Edwin Jackson on the other hand has given up five hits through four innings and two earned runs. Mike Fontenot hit in the first run for the Phillies in the second inning with a single to right field while Shane Victorino doubled in the third inning to give the Phils a 2-0 lead.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Starting Lineup: Ryan Zimmerman Back In The Fold

The Washington Nationals are looking to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday evening after roughing up Roy Halladay on Tuesday night in a 5-1 win. On Wednesday, the Nats will get back third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who was a late scratch from the lineup. Zimmerman has a shoulder issue and wanted to play, but was shut down as a precaution. He's back in the lineup against the series finale against Philadelphia, however.

Here's the rest of the Nats lineup:

Zim back: Espinosa 4, Harper 9, Zim 5, LaRoche, Desmond, Ankiel 8, Nady 7, Flores, Jackson

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 23, 2012

For the Phillies, Cole Hamels will take the mound to try and avoid the sweep and fight back to .500.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Recap: Washington Clinches Series With 5-2 Win

The Washington Nationals improved to 4-1 against the rival Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night with a 5-2 win at Citizens Bank Park. A big third-inning rally was the difference for the Nats, as the lineup roughed up ace Roy Halladay and put four runs on the board. A Rick Ankiel homer added a fifth run one inning later and that's all Jordan Zimmermann would need to clinch the series.

The Washington starter went six strong innings, rebounding nicely from his shaky outing against the Pirates. Pittsburgh did their damage via the long ball last week, but Zimmermann scattered seven hits and allowed just one earned run. Erik Kratz had a pinch-hit home run off Tom Gorzelanny to add a late Phillies run in the 8th but that would be all for Charlie Manuel's lineup.

The Nationals third inning was a welcome sight, as they strung together four hits for four runs off of Halladay. Remarkably, Zimmermann led it all off with a single to left. Stephen Lombardozzi followed with another single and Bryce Harper knocked them in with a deep triple to the gap in right center. The Nationals two hottest hitters closed out the scoring, as Adam LaRoche hit a sac fly to knock in Harper. Ian Desmond capped it off by hitting his second homer of the series, another bomb to left field. The rally gave Zimmermann the cushion he would need to lock down his third win of the season.

The Nats will go for the sweep on Wednesday night. They'll face Cole Hamels, the Philly starter who prevented the Nats' sweep earlier this month but caused a stir when he admitted to throwing at Bryce Harper. Edwin Jackson will be on the mound for Washington.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Score: Washington Offense Roughs Up Roy Halladay, Leads 5-1

The Washington Nationals have roughed up Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay through four innings at Citizens Bank Park. The Nats' offense exploded against the dominant right-hander for five runs in the third and fourth innings. The big rally took place in the third when the Nats put a four-spot on the board. It all started with Halladay's counterpart, Jordan Zimmermann, leading off the inning with a single to left. Stephen Lombardozzi then quickly followed that with a single to put the first two men aboard.

Rookie Bryce Harper strolled into the batter's box and knocked in both with a triple in the gap in deep right center for the early 2-0 lead. But the Nats did not let up there, as two of their hottest hitters, Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond added to the rally. LaRoche brought Harper home from third on a sacrifice fly. Desmond hit yet another solo shot to left field. It was his second homer in as many nights, and his fourth in the past week as he continues to rake out of the five-hole in the lineup. After Desmond's shot, the frustration boiled over for the Phillies and catcher Carlos Ruiz was tossed for arguing balls and strikes. Ruiz felt his starter was being squeezed, and Gary Cederstrom sent him to showers.

The Nats added one more the next inning to make it 5-1. Rick Ankiel took a Halladay cutter to straightaway centerfield for his third homer of the season. A win would clinch the Nats' second straight series against the Phils, and the offensive fireworks in the third and fourth have set up Jordan Zimmermann nicely.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies: Ryan Zimmerman Scratched From Washington Lineup

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been scratched from the Washington Nationals lineup hours before the start of the second game of their three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Chad Tracy will take Zimmerman's place, batting third and playing third base.

Ryan Zimmerman scratched from #Nats lineup, "manager's decision" according to spokesman. Chad Tracy taking over at 3B and batting 3rd.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 22, 2012

Zimmerman has not missed a game since coming off the disabled list May 8. He is currently sporting an on-base percentage of .344 and a slugging percentage of .354, having hit just two home runs and eight extra-base hits.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Lineup: No Changes As Jordan Zimmermann Takes The Mound

The Washington Nationals have made no changes to their lineup going into Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizen's Bank Ballpark.

#Nats Lineup: Lombardozzi LF, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Ankiel CF, Flores C, Zimmermann RHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 22, 2012

Despite not getting a base runner on after the fourth inning as well as some spotty relief pitching by closer Henry Rodriguez, the Nationals defeated the Phillies 2-1 Monday night.

Jordan Zimmermann will certainly hope that this lineup will give him some much needed run support, as his statistics, 38 strikeouts, 2.54 ERA over 52 and one-third innings, belie his 2-4 record.

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Ryan Mattheus Injury Update: Reliever Placed On Disabled List, Chien-Ming Wang Called Up

The Nationals have added a pitcher to their roster at the expense of another. As first reported by Craig Heist of WTOP Radio, right-handed reliever Ryan Mattheus has been placed on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis.

Nationals Vs. Phillies: Can Washington Extend Their Five-Game Winning Streak in Philadelphia?

The Washington Nationals have won 12 of their last 15 games against the Philadephia Phillies, including a five-game winning streak at Citizens Bank Park. Jordan Zimmerman (2-4, 2.58 ERA) will go up against Roy Halladay (4-3, 3.22) as the Nationals look to extend that streak in game two of the three-game series.

Zimmerman has never beaten the Phillies in his career, as he's 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts against Philadelphia. Halladay, on the other hand, is 11-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 15 career starts against the Nationals/Expos franchise. Both pitchers have struggled as of late, with Zimmerman sporting a 1-3 record and a 3.91 ERA and Halladay also going 1-3 with a 4.35 ERA.

First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. You can watch the game on MASN.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies Recap: Gio Gonzalez Brilliant Again In 2-1 Series Opening Win

The Washington Nationals took the first game of their three-game series against the division rival Phillies on Monday night with a 2-1 victory. Davey Johnson received some excellent pitching, as Gio Gonzalez and Craig Stammen breezed through eight shutout innings. Henry Rodriguez came on in the 9th and was once again extremely wild, walking the first batter he faced on four straight. The first three pitches were nowhere close, and went to the backstop. After giving up a hit to Mike Fontenont and throwing two more to the backstop, Rodriguez was eventually pulled for Sean Burnett.

The Phillies finally knocked in their first run of the game when Ty Wiggington hit one to deep right allowing John Mayberry to tag up. After issuing a walk to Hector Luna, Burnett closed it out by retiring Placido Polanco on a lineout to second, stranding the game-tying run at second base.

Gonzalez fanned 9 Phillies and allowed just three hits in six innings pitched. He continues to be a stopper for Davey Johnson, leading the staff and getting his fourth consecutive win in his first season with the club. Stammen was impressively efficient in his two innings of work to push the shutout into the 9th.

Ian Desmond, who's been raking while hitting in the five-hole, provided all the offense the Nats would need. Desmond took a Kyle Kendrick pitch deep into the shrubs beyond the wall in left-center field for a 1-0 lead in the second. In his next at-bat, he pulled one through the left side, singling home Bryce Harper for the 2-0 lead. The Nationals would not get another hit for the rest of the evening, as the Phillies pitching staff retired 17 straight Washington hitters.

Jordan Zimmermann will try to rebound from his last outing to win the series in Game 2 on Tuesday night. Philadelphia will counter with ace Roy Halladay.

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Nationals Vs. Phillies: Davey Johnson Goes Heavy On The Lefties In Monday's Lineup

Steve Lombardozzi gets the start in left field for the Washington Nationals on Monday night as they open a three-game set against the rival Philadelphia Phillies. The 23-year-old switch hitter will also bat in the leadoff spot as manager Davey Johnson looks to challenge opposing starter Kyle Kendrick with an additional left-handed hitter in the lineup.

This marks only the fourth appearance this season for Lombardozzi in the outfield and third time on top of the batting order. In 10 plate appearances as a leadoff batter this season, he has four hits. He owns a .933 OPS against southpaws when hitting as a lefty this season.

Three of the four hitters at the top of the batting order hit from the left side of the plate.

Monday's game will be the first time all season that Ryan Zimmerman has faced the Phillies. He missed the last series with a shoulder injury. Washington's third baseman has an .841 OPS in his career against Philadelphia. He has a 1.448 OPS with two home runs in 26 career plate appearances versus Kendrick.

The Nationals lineup for Monday's game looks like this:

LF Steve Lombardozzi
RF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Rick Ankiel
C Jesus Flores
LHP Gio Gonzalez

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Nationals Vs. Phillies: The Rivalry Continues Monday In Philadelphia

The Washington National and Philadelphia Phillies face off for another three game set. Will this series be as tense as the last time these two rivals met?