They now prepare to host the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park for a weekend series.
Taijuan Walker struggled on Friday, allowing six of the first fifteen batters he faced to reach base. He had already given up two runs when a line drive from Mets right fielder Starling Marte struck him on the left big toe and forced him to leave the contest.
The initial diagnosis was a contusion, pending further evaluation. Post-game X-rays revealed no fractures.
“It feels better now (after the game) than when it first happened," Walker told reporters afterward. "I tried to walk it off a little bit but it got kind of hot and numb and started hurting. It’s definitely sore, bruised, starting to swell a little bit. But it could have been a lot worse."
The Nationals come to Philadelphia posting a 4-6 record of their last 10 games. The club dropped back-to-back contests to the White Sox earlier this week.
Righty Jake Irvin will start the series opener. He's 2-3 on the year with a 3.55 ERA over eight starts. The Phillies counter with righty ace Zack Wheeler who struggled in his last time out, surrendering six runs over four frames against the Marlins.
Entering Friday, the Nationals were averaging 3.7 runs per game in May (48 runs scored in 13 games). They scored nine runs on May 3 and 11 on May 5 against the Blue Jays. In the other 11 games, they averaged 2.5 runs.
CJ Abrams leads the Nationals at the plate, carrying a .261 average and a .864 OPS into Friday. His seven homers leads the club and his 20 RBIs is tied with Luis Garcia for the team lead.
Pitching Matchups
Friday | 6:45 p.m.
RHP Jake Irvin (2-3, 3.55) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (4-3, 2.53)
Saturday | 6:05 p.m.
MacKenzie Gore (2-4. 3.48) vs. LHP Cristopher Sanchez (2-3, 3.43)
Sunday | 1:35 p.m.
RHP Trevor Williams (4-0, 1.94) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (5-2, 3.10)
Did You Know
Despite their hot start, FanGraphs projections still have the Braves winning the NL East crown with the Phillies finishing four games off the pace. FanGraphs projects the Phillies to win 94 games and gives the club a 29.8% chance winning the division and a 7.4% chance to win the World Series. The only clubs with a higher percentage to win the World Series, according to FanGraphs, are the Braves (17.7%), Dodgers (18.6%), Yankees(10.9%), and Orioles (7.7%).
