It's Game 162. The Nationals will wrap up their remarkable 2012 regular season on Wednesday afternoon with a matinee against the Phillies.
While the NL East title may be locked up, the Nationals are still playing for the best record in the National League, battling it out with the Reds. Cincinnati kept pace on Tuesday night with a win over the Cardinals, matching the Nationals' record. But Washington controls their own destiny, holding a tiebreaker over the Reds. A win will secure home field advantage.
The Nationals will turn to Edwin Jackson to try to lock down home field. Jackson will be making his 31st start of the season, posting a 9-11 record and 4.13 ERA to date. The veteran righty has been shaky in the month of September, and is coming off a start in which he gave up eight earned runs to the Cardinals. In three starts against the Phillies this season, he has a 4.34 ERA.
Philadelphia will counter with Cliff Lee, who has been perhaps the best pitcher in the game during the month of September. Lee has an ERA just a tick over 1.00 this month, and he'll likely be facing an atypical Nats lineup. Charlie Manuel is also likely to not start his best nine, but it's been rookie slugger Darin Ruf who has done all the damage through the first two games.
First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET and MASN will have the broadcast.