The Phillies and Nationals face off for the second time this weekend. Last night, Zack Wheeler went 7.1 innings in a 4-2 Phillies win.
Phillies vs Nationals: Game info
Date: Saturday, May 16th
Time: 6:05PM ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
TV channel: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Phillies vs Nationals pitching matchup
Cristopher Sánchez is on the mound for the Phillies and he’s going up against MacKenzie Gore.
Sánchez has been a great backend starter for the Phillies this year. Out of his eight starts this year, only two got out of hand and surpassed four runs. He has stepped up this season. He has only gone into the seventh inning once this season, a 10-1 win against the Blue Jays, but the bullpen has done its job in relief.
Gore has already seen the Phillies this season, a 3-2 loss for the Phillies that prevented a sweep. He, like Sánchez, has done well for the Nationals this season. His 2-4 record is not indicative of how he’s been to start the year. Of the eight games Gore has pitched, three of them saw him surpass three earned runs. His worst start was against the Blue Jays where six runs scored on six hits.
The season stats between Sánchez and Gore are rather similar so far. MacKenzie Gore is 2-4 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 40 innings pitched. Cristopher Sánchez is 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 42 innings pitched. Gore has Sánchez beat in strikeouts and walks, but Sánchez has given up fewer home runs.
Lineups
Half of the Nationals’ lineup has hit Cristopher Sánchez well while the other half is hitless. Joey Meneses has the largest sample size, going 5-11 with three RBI and two strikeouts. Jacob Young has faced Sánchez only twice and has one hit.
Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos have each faced MacKenzie Gore 18 times in their careers. Harper is 4-14 with two RBI and three strikeouts while Castellanos is 5-13 with two HR, three RBI, and one strikeout.
Since 2020, the year following the the Nationals’ World Series victory, the Phillies are 46-19 with a .708 winning percentage against the Nationals. In those 65 games, the Phillies are hitting .275 with 123 home runs.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
