CJ Abrams looks to extend his homer streak to four games when the Washington Nationals open a four-game homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
The Nationals shortstop is not the only one displaying his power. Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper has homered in two straight games after connecting in his team’s 6-2 win against the New York Mets on Sunday night, going 7-for-9 with four RBIs in that span.
Abrams is 4-for-12 over his past three games and is batting .286 on the season with 17 home runs and 57 RBIs.
The Phillies open a seven-game road trip after a 4-2 homestand. The Nationals return home after a rare road series loss as the Tampa Bay Rays took two of three, including a 4-3 win on Sunday. Washington is 24-16 on the road, 16-22 at home.
“We could leave here frustrated, losing that one-run game today and having a chance to leave here winning two out of three (games),” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “We’ve got the Phillies coming to town, who are ahead of us right now, and they’re playing good baseball.”
The Phillies have not announced a starter for Monday to oppose Washington left-hander Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.32 ERA).
The 30-year-old Griffin is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA over his last three starts, giving up one earned run and going at least five innings in each game. Last time out, he allowed a run on six hits in six innings of a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals. He struck out six and walked two.
Griffin’s only career start against the Phillies came on March 30 when he picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings as the Nationals romped 13-2 in Philadelphia.
With right-hander Andrew Painter (1-8, 7.06) demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies need to fill a spot in their rotation. One option for Monday could be right-hander Alan Rangel, 28, who has a 3.99 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) at Lehigh Valley.
Also on Monday, the Phillies are expected to activate left-handed reliever Kyle Backhus, who has been on the injured list since April with elbow inflammation. He had a 4.66 ERA in 10 games (one start) before going out.
Kyle Schwarber smacked a three-run homer Sunday night against the Mets and Harper had a homer, double and single one day after hitting for his first career cycle.
Reliever Jonathan Bowlan replaced starter Zack Wheeler with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning and struck out Marcus Semien. Bowlan has not allowed an earned run in 13 of his past 14 appearances.
“Bo’s been on a little bit of a roll, so it’s good to see that,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “It just adds another guy out there. … He’s a power arm, good breaking ball, throwing some changeups now.”
Abrams is not the only one swinging a hot bat for Washington. Nasim Nunez brings a seven-game hitting streak into Monday’s contest and is 12-for-21 (.572) over that stretch.
Washington still leads MLB with 416 runs scored, but the team has totaled just 11 over its past four games. They led 3-1 in the sixth inning on Sunday before the Rays rallied.
“Look, it’s fun to play these meaningful games,” Butera said. “We’re in it right now. We’re feeling good, and teams are not taking us lightly. We have to play really good baseball.”
–Field Level Media
