It has been a tale of two teams when the Washington Nationals face the Philadelphia Phillies. Since 2005 the Nationals have laid claim to a miserable 40-74 record against the Phillies, and are only 10-30 against their NL East rivals since 2009. On Wednesday night in Philadelphia, the Nationals are hoping to put a winning mark in their column to begin to turn the tides.
Right hander Jason Marquis (3-0, 2.82 ERA) has gotten the call to the mound to face off against Vance Worley (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Marquis is coming off one of the best starts of his career, where he pitched a complete-game shutout against the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants, striking out seven and only giving up five hits. Marquis has had a quality start in each of his five games this season. Worley was called up to the Phillies on April 29 after starter Joe Blanton went on the disabled list, and in his first appearance of 2011, he went six innings and tallied the win against the New York Mets.
While the Nationals certainly have the pitcher to get the job done, it will come down to what the offense can produce against Worley. Washington will need more pop out of Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond while leadoff hitter Danny Espinosa has to break out of his funk and get on base more consistently.
First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is at 7:05 p.m. EST.
Nationals Lineup
Danny Espinosa - 2B
Ian Desmond - SS
Jayson Werth - RF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Wilson Ramos - C
Michael Morse - LF
Jerry Hairston Jr. - CF
Alex Cora - 3B
Jason Marquis - SP