Aaron Nola tossed a gem on Sunday for the Phillies, helping the club split a four-game set with the Braves.
"We got to try to keep pace, and we got to make up some ground," manager Joe Girardi said. "You want to win series, but to lose it 1-to-3, it would have been really tough.”
Nola hurled 8 2/3 innings and whiffed nine in a much-needed 2-1 win for the Phils.
Spencer Howard will start the series opener, facing a Nats club that is riding a four-game losing streak and sitting eight games below .500. The 24-year-old righty threw three scoreless innings against the Yankees last week, surrendering just one hit. He lowered his ERA on the season to 5.11.
The Nationals counter with righty Joe Ross who has pitched well as of late, posting a 2.86 ERA over his last seven starts to go along with a 0.98 WHIP.
The Nationals were swept over the weekend by an Orioles club with the second-worst record in baseball.
Tonight's Lineup
Segura 4
Realmuto 2
Harper 9
McCutchen 7
Hoskins 3
Gregorius 6
Torreyes 5
Herrera 8
Howard 1
Delayed Return
Zach Eflin will not rejoin the Phillies starting rotation later this week as he's still dealing with discomfort in his right knee. He threw a bullpen session on Sunday and didn't feel as good as he and the club had hoped. He's been out since mid-July dealing with patellar tendinitis.
