Phillies (63-79) at Nationals (84-58)
1:35 p.m. on CSN
While the Eagles take the field in their season opener, the Phillies play their 143rd game of 2016 to close out a four-game set with the Nationals. Adam Morgan looks for his third straight quality start, while the Nats' Gio Gonzalez aims to right himself before the postseason.
Here are five things for the series finale.
1. A one-sided matchup
Sunday will be the final game between the Nationals and Phillies in 2016 and it was unsurprisingly one-sided. The Nats have won 13 of 18 so far and will win the season series for the second straight year.
Regardless of whether the Nationals win the finale, it will be the most lopsided win in the season series for the Nationals since moving to D.C. in 2005. Surprisingly enough, the Phillies topped the Nats in the series each of the last two times the Nationals made the playoffs (2012 and 2014).
So why was it so lopsided this year? For starters, the talent on the Nationals' roster. While Bryce Harper is having a down year, Daniel Murphy is in the conversation for MVP, Jayson Werth has bounced back and is finally healthy and Wilson Ramos broke out at catcher. That doesn't even mention the starters they toss out like Max Scherzer or Tanner Roark.
While the young Phillies' roster has promise, it is unproven and not quite at the level of the veteran heavy Nationals.
MLB
Furthermore, the Nationals simply shut down the Phillies' offense. Over the 18 games, the Nats' pitchers had a collective 2.27 ERA, their best mark against any team they faced more than three times. In 162⅔ innings, they've struck out a whopping 167 Phillies.
The Nationals have pitched even better against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park despite it ostensibly being the better hitters park. The Nats went 8-1 at CBP with a 1.54 ERA over 81⅔ innings. The eight wins at CBP are easily the Nationals' most at any single park besides Nationals Park.
2. Can Morgan stay hot in D.C.?
For only the third time in his two-year career, Morgan has produced two straight quality starts, the first time he's done so since June. The second of that pair of starts just so happened to be against the Nationals on the road.
So can lightning strike twice for the 26-year-old lefty?
It's been just 11 days since Morgan held the Nationals to two runs on three hits over 6⅔ innings. While he took the loss in that start (a 2-1 defeat for the Phillies), it was a great sign for a lefty fighting to keep his rotation spot through the end of the season.
Morgan followed up the Aug. 31 start with his second win of the season. The southpaw stifled the Marlins for six innings, allowing just one run and walking none for the second straight start.
Morgan's handedness seemingly would help him against the Nationals' lineup with lefties Murphy and Harper in the middle of the order. However, Werth and Ramos did the damage against Morgan on Aug. 31, hitting a home run and RBI single, respectively.
3. Gonzalez hanging on
The pitcher that topped Morgan in that Aug. 31 start was none other than his opponent on Sunday: Gonzalez. Gonzalez had his best start in nearly a month, holding the Phillies to just one run in six innings.
But outside of that start, Gonzalez has simply not been what the Nationals wanted this season. His 4.40 ERA is his worst mark since 2009, when he was a 23-year-old in his first full MLB season. His one home run per nine innings is his worst mark since 2009 and his 8.6 strikeouts per nine is his lowest since 2010.
One thing that Gonzalez has always gotten by on is his durability and that, at least, hasn't failed him in 2016. He's already thrown 28 starts and 157⅓ innings. He's thrown at least 27 starts at 157 innings every year since 2010. However, his ERA has been sharply declining since his All-Star appearance in 2012.
His most recent start was his worst of the season. He allowed six runs on eight hits to the lowly Atlanta Braves, while completing just three innings. Exactly half of the 16 batters he faced got on base.
Gonzalez still has a winning record (10-9) and didn't lose that start to Atlanta, but that has more to do with the offense backing him than the quality of his appearances.
4. Players to watch
Phillies: Freddy Galvis, one of just four Phillies with a hit Saturday, has a hit in six of his last seven starts. He also hit a home run against Gonzalez in August.
Nationals: Trea Turner has dazzled in limited time during his rookie year. The second baseman/centerfielder has a .339 average and has reeled off 77 hits in just 53 games. The righty only has 46 career at-bats against lefties and has 15 hits in those ABs.
5. This and that
• The Reading Fightin' Phils' dazzling 2016 season came to an end Saturday. They lost Game 4 of their series with the Trenton Thunder and fell in the best-of-five set, 3-1. Roman Quinn picked up a hit and stole a base while both Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins had a double in four at-bats. Quinn and catcher Jorge Alfaro were called up Sunday (see story).
• Only two Phillies hitters have home runs off Gonzalez: Galvis and Darin Ruf. Galvis is 9 for 33 with two doubles and two homers against Gonzalez. Ruf is 10 for 28 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, three doubles and eight walks.
• Maikel Franco, who is likely limited to just pinch hitting duty thanks to his injured thumb, is just 1 for 13 with a walk against Gonzalez.
• Murphy is 0 for 9 with a walk against Morgan. Ramos, Werth and Danny Espinosa are the only Nationals hitters with home runs against Morgan, while Harper is 0 for 3 with a strikeout.