Nationals manager Davey Martinez rested stars Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon on Wednesday and the Nats still won 5-2 over the Phillies. Second baseman Brian Dozier led off for the first time this season and delivered a late homer in the win. Now the Nats go for a five-game series sweep of the Phillies with the idea of resting another one or two players as Tuesday's wild card game draws near.
The Nats (89-69) want to keep winning to make sure they host that game. They lead the Brewers (88-70) by one game with four to play. Milwaukee is 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis (90-69) for the National League Central division crown.
"We been playing pretty well for a while now," Dozier said. "But even like talking to Trea and Rendon, if they were going to get a day off tomorrow, they're like 'No we need to play and keep the timing down' and all that kind of stuff, so I think everyone's still eager to keep playing.
"It's one game, so you don't want to rest too much, I guess, so make sure everybody's timing's down and your arms are where they need to go. Like I said, we've still got work to do. We partied last night, a big win coming off of that, but we've got a few more that we've got to take care of."
Martinez has wanted to rest Juan Soto for a while. But even though he likes the slugger against left-handed pitching and the Phillies send southpaw Jason Vargas (7-8, 4.40 ERA) to the hill for today's series finale, Soto and Adam Eaton get the day off today.
The Nats hand the ball to right-hander Stephen Strasburg (17-6, 3.37) for his last regular-season start. This will be his 33rd start of the season, his most since a career-high 34 in 2014. This is his first start at home since Aug. 31.
The Nats have won nine of their last 10 meetings with the Phillies, including 8-1 at Nats Park. Their all-time record with the Phillies is 139-139.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, wind 12 mph right field to left field
NATIONALS (89-69)
SS Trea Turner
CF Victor Robles
3B Anthony Rendon
2B Asdrúbal Cabrera
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Yan Gomes
RF Michael A. Taylor
LF Gerardo Parra
RHP Stephen Strasburg
PHILLIES (79-79)
2B César Hernández
RF Bryce Harper
1B Rhys Hoskins
LF Brad Miller
SS Jean Segura
CF Adam Haseley
3B Maikel Franco
C Andrew Knapp
LHP Jason Vargas
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