Opposite dugout: Phillies coming along, but have plenty to work on

Manager: Pete Mackanin (3rd season)

Record: 12-15

Last 10 games: 4-6

Who to watch: 2B César Hernández (.336 average with 39 hits), 3B Maikel Franco (.231 average with 5 HR, 25 RBIs), RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.18 ERA), RHP Héctor Neris (0-1, 3 saves)

Season series vs. Nationals: 3-3

Pitching probables:

May 5: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP Nick Pivetta, 7:05 p.m., MASN
May 6: TBA vs. RHP Vince Velasquez, 7:05 p.m., MASN
May 7: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson, 2:35 p.m., MASN

Inside the Phillies:

At this point in the season, almost every team in Major League Baseball seems to be either surpassing expectations or failing to live up to preseason hype. Does that mean the pundits were just dead wrong with all 30 clubs? Of course not, as it's still very early in the season. But for the Philadelphia Phillies, the early-season mark on them might just be ... right where it should be.

This is a young team that, despite having some talent, doesn't boast any household names and isn't expected to contend for a postseason spot for another year or two. But through the first month of the season, the Phillies have played exactly like a team that might be a year or two away from the playoffs, but can certainly hold its own against the league's best.

Offensively, the Phillies enjoyed a nice April. They finished the month ninth in the majors at 4.6 runs per game, and 13th in the majors with a .740 OPS. The main power source in Philadelphia comes from third baseman Maikel Franco, who leads the team with five home runs and 25 RBIs. Second baseman César Hernández has been a multi-hit machine, too, raising his average to a team-best .336 on the season. He enters Friday's series opener coming off of a four-hit performance against the Cubs, and has four multi-hit games in his last 10 contests. Collectively, the Phillies rank 10th in the majors with a .251 average, and they'll need every bit of offense they can muster opposite the Nationals' league-leading .290 mark. Let the fireworks commence.

There isn't much of a sample size for right-hander Nick Pivetta, who starts for the Phillies in Friday's series opener. The rookie has made just one start this season, though he came away relatively unscathed against a tough Dodgers lineup. Pivetta issued nine hits over five innings, but allowed just two earned runs and struck out five batter while walking only one. Saturday's starter, Vince Velasquez, has seen mixed results in two career starts vs. the Nationals. He's 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA, including a start in Philadelphia back on April 7. In that outing, the right-hander lasted only four innings and took the loss, despite tallying 10 strikeouts. Still, Velasquez has won his last two starts and has allowed just eight hits total in those outings. It's been a banner start to the season for Jeremy Hellickson, who starts Sunday's series finale. He's off to a 4-1 mark in six games with an ERA sitting at 3.18. That number jumped dramatically, too, following his last start against the Cubs in which he allowed six runs in four innings. Before that, Hellickson went five straight starts allowing two earned runs or fewer and will look to boost his team's record against the Nationals to 3-0 in games where he starts.

In the bullpen, it's been a bit of a rough stretch recently, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers during which the bullpen coughed up a lead last Saturday in the ninth inning. As for the closer role, it's been a closer-by-committee situation to start the year. Jeanmar Gómez, Joaquín Benoit and Héctor Neris have each accumulated saves for the Phillies so far this season, but it's Neris who appears to have settled into the closer role ... for now. Neris has three saves in 13 2/3 innings pitched, but Gómez, Benoit and the rest of the Phillies bullpen has done a serviceable job keeping the team afloat through the first month of the season.