Kyle Kendrick, Phillies Open Series At Washington Against Strasburg

With the season winding down and the play off push stronger than ever, the Phillies have the chance to play spoiler as they go to Washington for a three-game set. The Nationals, currently riding a six-game winning streak, are looking to make a push for a Wild Card spot this October. At 77-69 and 11 games back in the WC standings it looks highly-unlikely that the Nats will make back-to-back post season appearances, but if there's a will there's a way. But screw that noise, we're Phillies fans and we want to see the Nationals fail. That's where the Phils come into play. With no shot of the playoffs this season, the Phillies are playing to have fun and spoil other teams' chances because it's fun. 

On the hill tonight will be Kyle Kendrick (10-12, 4.51 ERA), who has lost all four of his last decisions in six starts. In that stretch, Kendrick has a 5.33 ERA and has allowed 11 batters on base by balls. Continuing to struggle through out the second half of the season, Kendrick is looking to find that spark he had in the early part of the season. He'll look to do so as he makes his fifth start of the season against the Nationals. This year he's 1-2 against them – lifetime he is 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA.

Stephen Strasburg has been some what of a Cole Hamels for the Nats this season. With a 7-9 record that doesn't look too pretty, his 2.96 ERA proves that he's not getting shelled every time out on the mound. Over his last six starts (two against Philadelphia), the righthander is 2-0 and has a 2.80 ERA. His last time out proved successful against the Marlins as Strasburg held the Marlins to four runs on four hits through six innings of work to pull out his first win since August 11th when he shut out the Phillies in a complete game. In his career against Philadelphia, Strasburg is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA.

Phillies lineup:

1. Cesar Hernandez CF 
2. Jimmy Rollins SS 
3. Chase Utley 2B 
4. Carlos Ruiz C 
5. Darin Ruf RF 
6. Cody Asche 3B 
7. Kevin Frandsen 1B
8. Freddy Galvis LF 
9. Kyle Kendrick P

Nationals lineup: 

1. Denard Span CF
2. Ryan Zimmerman 3B
3. Jayson Werth RF
4. Bryce Harper LF
5. Ian Desmond SS
6. Adam LaRoche 1B
7. Wilson Ramos C
8. Steve Lombardozzi 2B
9. Stephen Strasburg P

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter.