Nation Notes: Natinals vs. Phillies

Washington Nationals (73-70) at Philadelphia Phillies (56-89)

Starting Pitchers:
PHI: David Buchanan, RHP (2-8, 9.11)
vs.
WAS: Stephen Strasburg, RHP (8-7, 4.30)

Time: 7:05 EST
TV: CSN, MASN
Weather: Sunny, 82 degrees
Media: Twitter and Facebook

A Note for Today:

The Phillies had their chance last night to capitalize on the Nationals after Jonathan Papelbon gave up the lead to Andres Blanco in the bottom of the 10th inning to tie the game and take it into the 11th inning.  At that point why they didn’t bring in the great Kenny Giles is a mystery to all of us, but instead went with Luis Garcia, who gave up the tie-breaker to Yunel Escobar on a fielder’s choice.

David Buchanan will get his second start after coming back to the team with the expanded rosters.  In his last game, Buchanan went 3.1 innings and gave up 10 hits, allowing 4 runs to cross the plate.  The Phillies are obviously trying to get a look at Buchanan to make a final decision on whether he will be staying with the club or not at the finish of this year.

The lineup looks a bit obscured tonight, mixing things up is Pete Mackanin, putting Andres Blanco into the cleanup spot, and dropping Ryan Howard finally for some playing time for Darin Ruf.

On a side note, Maikel Franco was seen during batting practice fielding balls, which could mean he is close to ending his stint on the DL.

First pitch at 7:05 EST.

Lineup:

Sweeney LF, Galvis SS, Herrera CF, Blanco 2B, Asche 3B, Ruf 1B, Bogusevic RF, Ruiz C, Buchanan RHP