Phillies Nationals Preview

When Jayson Werth left for Washington D.C., he left a big void not only in the lineup, but in the hearts of Phillies fans as well. During his time in Philadelphia, Werth did an outstanding job in the 5th spot by protecting Ryan Howard. Werth forced opposing teams to pitch to Howard and thus made the Phils offense more productive. Werth had a big year last year hitting .296 with 27 HR and 85 RBI's. Werth was loved in Philly for his dynamic hitting, his amazing defense, and ofcourse his beard. But this week when the Phils take on the Washington Nationals, Jayson Werth will be on the opposing side and Phillies fans will have to root against their former favorite player. Here is a little preview of what to expect in the first Phillies Nationals series of 2011.

Phillies Last Series

The Phils took 2 out of 3 from the Braves behind their solid pitching and high powered offense. Shane Victorino went 9-13 in the series with 3 RBI's and he is really doing a great job in his new role as lead off hitter. Defensively, the Phils got a bad start from Cliff Lee, but Roy Oswalt pitched a solid game on Saturday, and Cole Hamels pitched an absolute gem on Sunday. Also the Phillies bullpen was phenomenal against the Braves and didn't allow a single run. The Phils are now 7-2 and will look to continue their winning ways in the upcoming series.

Nationals Last Series

The Nationals were able to take 2 out of 3 from the New York Mets. In Sunday's rubber match, the Nationals won the game in extra innings and in turn won their first series of the year. The Nationals got solid starting pitching out of Jason Marquis and Jordan Zimmermann in the series but got an awful start from Tom Gorzelanny who pitched Saturday going 5.1 innings and giving up 5 earned runs. The Nats are now 4-5 and need and will look to get their second series win against the Phils this week.

What To Look For

For the Nats, obviously you want to watch Jayson Werth to see how he will perform against his former team. The Nats will be without star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman who was recently placed on the DL with an abdominal strain. For the Phillies, keep an eye on Joe Blanton and Cliff Lee who are both coming off bad starts. Look for them to both have strong rebound games in the upcoming series. Also Shane Victorino is tearing the cover off the ball right now and should continue to hit well against the Nats.

Pitching Match-Ups

Tuesday 7:05 PM Joe Blanton (0-0, 14.54 ERA) vs Livan Hernandez (0-1, 4.76 ERA)

Wednesday 7:05 PM Roy Halladay (1-0, 0.69 ERA) vs John Lannan (1-0, 3.60 ERA)

Thursday 7:05 PM Cliff Lee (1-1, 7.84 ERA) vs Jordan Zimmerman (1-1, 3.18 ERA)

So far in this 2011 season, the Phils are clearly doing a lot of things right. They are 7-2 and they look like they are on pace to have a big year. The only complaint I have with the Phils is that in both the Mets and Braves series the Phils dropped the first game. If the Phils can start winning the series openers, it makes winning the series and potentially sweeping that much easier. Hopefully the Phils can get off to a good start tomorrow when Joe Blanton takes the mound. I think the Phils can edge out a win in Blanton's start, and then win the final 2 games behind Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.