Phillies-Nationals 5 things: Phils turn to Alec Asher to end 9-game skid vs. Nats

Share

Phillies (62-77) at Nationals (82-57)
7:05 p.m. on CSN

The Phillies move on to the nation's capital after dropping the series finale in Miami, 6-0, on Wednesday night. The Phils' offensive inconsistencies showed again in the loss, with them mustering just four hits, three of which were singles.

It gets no easier this weekend against the division-leading Nationals, who are 20 games better than the Phillies and have destroyed them of late.

1. One-sided series
The Nationals have won nine consecutive games against the Phillies, sweeping the last three series. They've outscored the Phillies 47-19, which is an average score of 5-2. Four of the nine losses were by one run.

Prior to that, the Phillies had won four in a row against the Nats, including a three-game sweep at Nationals Park from April 26-28. Obviously, the two teams are much different positions now. Late April was when the Phillies' entire starting rotation was clicking. The staff has taken its lumps since, with Aaron Nola and Zach Eflin suffering season-ending injuries and Vince Velasquez being shut down.

2. Asher's season debut
Alec Asher makes his 2016 Phillies debut, an opportunity created by the aforementioned circumstances in the rotation. Asher missed most of the season with an 80-game PED suspension, but prior to that he was pitching his way back to the big leagues.

The big 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander had a miserable time last September, going 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA in seven starts with the Phillies. His four-seam fastball had velocity but no movement, and major-league hitters pounded him to the tune of 42 hits and eight home runs in 29 innings.

Asher learned a two-seam fastball this offseason, and he's hoping it makes him less hittable the way it's made Adam Morgan less hittable lately (see story). In 12 minor-league starts this season, Asher had a 2.37 ERA and .201 opponents' batting average. Clearly, something clicked.

Asher's future with the Phillies is unclear. He was one of five prospects they acquired last summer in the Cole Hamels trade, but he didn't arrive with as much hype as the headliners in that deal. The Phillies have a handful of young starting pitchers who figure to battle for jobs next spring and Asher is one of them. But unless he shows something in the series of starts he'll make between tonight and season's end, he'll be far down the list.

This is a big opportunity for him tonight, albeit against one of the toughest lineups in the majors.

3. Complete Nats lineup
The Nationals' starting rotation is in flux right now with Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross on the DL, but they seem better equipped for October baseball this year. 

They have a deeper lineup with speedster Trea Turner leading off and Daniel "Hits" Murphy batting third. Turner is hitting .346 and Murphy .345, combining to set the table for Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos.

Imagine how good the Nationals would be this season if Harper wasn't having a down year. He's hitting .252/.382/.462 with 23 homers and 76 RBIs a year after hitting .330/.460/.649 with 42 jacks.

The Nats swept the Braves this week after losing two of three to the Mets. They've been a streaky of team of late — going back to Aug. 18 they've won three, lost four, won two, lost two, won four, lost two, then won three more. 

4. Scouting Cole
The Phillies take on 24-year-old A.J. Cole, a tall, lanky right-hander making his fourth start of the season. He pitched pretty well in the first three, allowing just 19 baserunners in 18⅔ innings. 

Cole has been a highly-touted pitcher for a few years. The Nationals drafted him in the fourth round in 2010 out of Oviedo HS, the same town where Zach Eflin grew up. Eighteen months later, the Nats traded Cole to the A's as part of the package for Gio Gonzalez. A year later, Washington reacquired Cole from Oakland in a three-team trade that sent John Jaso to the Athletics and Mike Morse to the Mariners.

Cole had just an OK year at Triple A, going 8-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 22 starts. 

He goes mostly fastball-slider, throwing his heater 63 percent of the time and the slider 18 percent. He'll also mix in curveballs and changeups.

Cole faced the Phillies once last season and allowed two runs over 4⅓ innings and struck out seven. Ryan Howard took him deep.

5. This and that
• Maikel Franco could be out again tonight after jamming his thumb Sunday. Franco sat last night as Andres Blanco returned to the lineup after missing 38 games with a fractured left index finger.

• Aaron Altherr has seen a lot of pitches lately, walking five times in his last 12 plate appearances. The Phillies don't have enough plate selection outside of Cesar Hernandez and (sometimes) Odubel Herrera, so it's a welcome sign.

• The Nationals' OPS at home is 104 points higher than their opponents'.

Contact Us