The opener lines up lefty Jesús Luzardo (11-5, 4.20 ERA) for Philadelphia against rookie right-hander Brad Lord (3-9, 3.28 ERA). Luzardo struck out 11 over five innings of two-run ball here back on March 29. Lord, in his big-league debut the very next day, didn’t retire a batter. But when the Phillies saw him again on May 1, he allowed just two runs over five-plus innings to earn his first career win.
Bryce Harper has made Nationals Park his personal hitting laboratory since leaving Washington in 2019 — batting .331 with a 1.022 OPS in 46 games here. That track record could come in handy right now, because this team is in one of its rare ruts.
The Phillies are coming off back-to-back losses in Cincinnati, where the offense vanished in a hurry — 6-1 on Tuesday, 8-0 on Wednesday. It’s only the second time since the All-Star break they’ve lost consecutive games, and you have to go back to June 24–26 in Houston to find their last three-game losing streak. Before the Reds series, they’d won seven of eight.
The Nationals arrive from Kansas City after salvaging the finale of a three-game set with an 8-7 win Wednesday. Rookie Daylen Lile, enjoying a breakout August (.341/.372/.463 in 11 games), drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the ninth. Since debuting on May 23, the 22-year-old has bumped his batting average each month — from .208 to .226 to .260 and now to his current August surge.
For the Phillies, the mission is simple: snap the skid, get the bats humming again, and keep their perfect record of avoiding three-game losing streaks since late June. Nationals Park has been a good place to do just that.
Nola Returns
Aaron Nola’s next pitch will be in a Phillies uniform. Rob Thomson hasn’t tipped his hand on who gets the ball for Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals. But the door is wide open for Nola to walk right through it. The 32-year-old’s latest stop on the rehab trail came Tuesday in Allentown, where he threw 84 pitches for Lehigh Valley. The line looked like vintage Nola: 5 2/3 innings, two runs, no walks, 11 strikeouts. The kind of crisp command and swing-and-miss stuff we haven’t seen much of this year.
And that’s the hope — because before the injured list break, Nola’s season was a grind: 1–7, a 6.16 ERA, and a 1.51 WHIP in nine starts. But on this rehab run, he’s been sharper, cleaner, more Nola-like.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday: LHP Jesus Luzardo (11-5, 4.20) vs. RHP Brad Lord (3-6, 3.28)
Friday: RHP Zack Wheeler (10-5, 2.68) vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-12, 4.09)
Saturday: RHP Taijuan Walker (4-5, 3.39) vs. RHP Cade Cavalli (0-0, 3.86)
Sunday: TBD vs. LHP Mitchell Parker (7-13, 5.55)
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