Washington at Philadelphia

The Phillies have won three straight and go for the sweep of Washington early this afternoon to close out a six game homestand. Washington sends Livan Hernandez to the mound. He's pitched well of late but is still 3-5 overall witha 3-5 record. Cory Lidle goes for Philadelphia and he's been consistently average. I view the starting pitching matchup as a wash. Although we could give the slight edge to Lidle as he is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA vs. Washington. With that matchup so close, we now look to other important factors: bullpen, hitting, momentum, home field and situational angles. Obviously Philly enjoys the home field advantage here. Washington is 11-19 on the road this season. They score 4.5 per game away from home while the Phils get 5.1 per game at home. Edge to Philadelphia. The Phillies' bullpen has a monster advantage over Washington. Washington's bullpen has a 4.50 ERA that is a horrible 5.56 on the road. Philadelphia's bullpen has a 3.42 ERA that is 3.13 at home where they have saved 6 out of 7. Big edge to Philly. Home favorites off a game where they stranded 3 or less runners on base, starting a pitcher who walked 5 or more hitters last outing are 43-7 (86%) since 1997. Love Philly to sweep here.