Heading in to a three-game series against the last place Phillies, the Nationals had a half game lead over the hot Cincinnati Reds for the top spot in the National League. Yet despite winning eight of the nine games prior to the series, the Nationals have struggled against the Phillies with back to back losses.
Now they'll look to avoid getting swept by Philadelphia in the final game of the series on Thursday night. But to do so, they'll have to get past the best pitcher for the Phillies, Cole Hamels. Despite not earning a win in either of his last two start, Hamels's mark of 11 wins is tied for the eighth most in the NL.
Pitching for the Nationals will be Ross Detwiler who struggled in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday when he allowed four earned runs and seven hits before getting pulled in the fifth.
The first pitch of Thursday's game at Nationals Park is scheduled to be thrown at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised on MLB Network, MASN and CSN-Philadelphia.
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