The Philadelphia Phillies (74-53) host the Washington Nationals (51-75) this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies’ offense busted out for 29 runs in a three-game series sweep over the Seattle Mariners, while Washington took 2-of-3 games from a spiraling New York Mets (67-60), who are 5-13 in August. There will be two pitching rematches this weekend between the Phillies and Nationals from last weekend’s four-game series split.
Starting Pitching Matchups
FRI: Taijuan Walker (4-6, 3.34 ERA) vs. Cade Cavalli (1-0, 2.20 ERA)
Walker enters tonight having pitched at least five innings in each of his last five starts. He has kept the Phillies in games, allowing an average of 5.8 hits and 1.6 runs per game over that time. Walker has pitched 18.2 innings with a 1.45 ERA over three starts in August and will look to build upon his recent success.
Cavalli had the Phillies’ number at Nationals Park last Saturday as part of a 2-0 shutout win for Washington. The 27-year-old rightly shut down the Phillies hitters over seven innings by scattering seven hits but not allowing any runs to score. Cavalli has pitched 16.1 innings this August and has surrendered only four runs over three games, but now has to face a Phillies offense that was clicking on all cylinders earlier this week.
SAT: Aaron Nola (1-7, 6.92 ERA) vs. Mitchell Parker (7-13, 5.83 ERA)
Nola makes his second start since returning from the injured list. The 32-year-old righty looked crisp in the first two innings of Sunday’s start in Washington, but things unraveled quickly as the Nationals wiped away an early 6-0 deficit in a wild ballgame. Nola exited with a stat line of 2.1 innings, seven hits allowed, and six earned runs against as Thomson turned to his bullpen in the third inning.
Things didn’t go any better for Nationals starter Mitchell Parker in that ballgame, who finished with 1.2 innings, four hits allowed, and six early runs on the board as Miguel Cairo turned to the bullpen to get out of the second inning in last Sunday’s 11-9 loss to the Phillies. Parker brings a 2-6 road record and a 6.32 ERA to Philadelphia, so the Phillies’ offense might have another strong opportunity to score some runs in the middle game of this series.
SUN: Ranger Suarez (9-6, 3.25 ERA) vs. Jake Irvin (8-8, 5.30 ERA)
Suarez will look to build upon a strong 6.2 inning outing in a 12-7 win over the Seattle Mariners last Monday. The 29-year-old lefty is 4-2 at home this season with a 4.27 ERA. In 16 career games against the Nationals, Suarez is 7-2 with a 4.47 ERA.
Irvin is scheduled to pitch the series finale for Washington on Sunday afternoon. In his last outing, the 28-year-old righty was smacked for six runs over six innings in an 8-1 loss to the Mets on August 19. Much like the battle against Parker, the Phillies’ offense should have an opportunity to find hits off a starter who has averaged allowing over seven hits and nearly five runs a game over his last five starts.
Trea Turner Has Locked In Over the Last Two Weeks
Turner has consistently reached base for Philadelphia, leading to positive results for the Phillies over the last two weeks. He has been red-hot with a .462 batting average and 30 hits over 65 at-bats. Turner is batting .378 with 31 hits in 19 games during August.
The Phillies’ lead-off hitter has taken it to another level over the last week with videogame-like numbers during the previous seven days: 21 hits in 34 at-bats for a .618 batting average, his first home run in South Philadelphia this season, and seven RBIs. Turner has collected at least three hits in four of his last five games, including a mind-blowing five hits in Wednesday night’s 11-2 win over Seattle. He also collected his 1,500th career hit this past week.
Turner’s run started with a 3-for-5 performance last Thursday in the series opener against the Nationals. Washington had problems slowing down the Phillies’ shortstop, who collected 11 hits in 18 at-bats during last weekend’s series. It will be up to Nationals pitchers to slow down Turner’s recent offensive production; otherwise, it could be another jam-packed weekend on the basepaths for the Phillies.
NBC Sports Philadelphia to Show Duran Lightshow Live
Phillies fans unable to be among the 44,000-plus fans in South Philadelphia will now get to enjoy the Jhoan Duran experience live on the remaining local broadcasts this season, according to a tweet this morning from NBC’s John Clark:
You will be able to see the entrance of Jhoan Duran for night games the rest of the season on @NBCSPhilly ??
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 22, 2025
https://t.co/yHPByo37uB
It will be interesting to see if this approach applies to any day game appearances, as Clark’s social media message specifically mentions “night games for the rest of the season.” It is a customer-savvy move by the Phillies broadcaster following a social media crusade from fans to get the chance to experience it again after NBC’s initial experiment once Duran arrived in Philly. The Phillies’ closer has recorded six saves in 5.2 innings over seven games in Philadelphia.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
