The Nationals ended a difficult road trip with a 7-3 loss to the Phillies on Thursday afternoon, dropping three of four in Philadelphia and eight of their last nine games overall. Miles Mikolas allowed six runs and a season-high 12 hits over five innings, while the Phillies collected eight doubles among their 16 hits. The bright spot for the Nats was Andrew Pinckney, who hit his first major-league home run in his first career start. The loss dropped the Nationals to 56-61, five games below .500 and 5.5
games out of a Wild Card spot.
The Nats will now return home for a three-game series against the 56-58 Cincinnati Reds, one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star break. Cincinnati has gone 13-6 during the second half and enters Washington on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Athletics. Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson both homered in Thursday’s 6-5 victory, while rookie Sal Stewart hit his 25th home run of the season.
Game One – Friday 6:45 PM ET
CIN: RHP Chase Petty (1-2, 4.50 ERA)
WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (8-5, 3.52 ERA)
Petty will serve as the opener in what is expected to be a bullpen game for the Reds. He recently returned from the injured list and has not pitched more than 2⅓ innings in an appearance since June 4, so the Nationals should expect to see several Reds relievers Friday night.
Cavalli recorded his fifth consecutive quality start last Sunday against the Braves, allowing three runs—two earned—over six innings while striking out three. He has taken the mantle of most dependable Nats starter with Foster Griffin gone and will look to continue his success against a solid Reds lineup.
Game Two – Saturday 6:45 PM ET
CIN: RHP Chase Burns (13-1, 2.35 ERA)
WSH: LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-3, 3.94 ERA)
Burns has been one of baseball’s best starting pitchers this season and was dominant in his last outing against Pittsburgh, allowing one run on two hits over six innings while striking out nine. He earned his 13th win of the season in the 10-2 victory and has already beaten the Nationals once this season, throwing six scoreless innings against them in May.
Alvarez pitched very efficiently last time out against the Phillies, entering the 7th inning with a low pitch count and cruising, with zero runs allowed. Unfortunately, he allowed 2 runners on base and departed, and the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, surrendering a grand slam, adding 2 runs to Alvarez’s final line.
Game Three – Sunday 12:15 PM ET
CIN: RHP Brady Singer (5-10, 4.67 ERA)
WSH: TBD
Singer allowed three runs over six innings while striking out six in his last start against the Athletics. Although his overall numbers have been inconsistent, he has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts and will look to give the Reds another solid outing in the series finale.
The Nationals have not yet announced a starter for Sunday afternoon. With an unusual 12:15 start time and national coverage on Peacock and NBCSN, the Nats will be looking to close the weekend—and a stretch of 17 consecutive games—with a much-needed series victory.
