Phillies Preview: September 10, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (79-58) at Washington Nationals (47-92)
7:05pm - Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

Joe Blanton, RHP (9-6, 3.80) v. Livan Hernandez, RHP (7-10, 5.44)

Joe Blanton will get the start tonight and will be opposed by the journeyman righty, Livan Hernandez. The crafty veteran was recently reacquired by the Nationals and has a great deal of experience against the Phillies. The Phils will look to finish the road trip strong with a good showing against Hernandez and the Nats in the Thursday night game. They have a chance to sweep the Nationals and win their 80th game of the season before returning home.

With the Phillies' rotation a bit out of sync, Joe Blanton will take the ball tonight. He has pitched very well all season long and been the steady arm in the rotation every time out. Blanton will look to maintain his consistency with a strong start against the Nationals. He has decent numbers against their lineup, holding them to a .264 batting average in 100 career plate appearances. As usual with Blanton, he will need to keep his fastball down to keep from being hit hard.

The veteran Livan Hernandez will take the bump for the Nats to face off with a Phillies team he is quite familiar with. He has done well against them, though, with a .262 batting average against in 210 plate appearances. Hernandez has also allowed six long balls to them, which is relatively low considering the amount of at bats they have had. However, even in the cavernous Nationals Park, the Phillies have proven that they can hit the ball out, with seven homers in the last two games. The Phils will need to be very patient with Livan, who is a soft-tosser these days, and take advantage of the inevitable mistakes he will make.

Tonight is a good chance for the Phillies to finish off the road trip with a flourish. After dropping the first four games, a three game sweep in Washington can help to negate their recent struggles. After this game, the Phillies only have one more 10-game road trip for the season. While they will have plenty of home games coming up, they have been the league's best team on the road. With their magic number down to 19, a win tonight could bring them within striking distance of clinching the division in two weeks' time.