• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Phillies desperate for a win vs. Nationals

Sep 27, 2006 - 4:07 PM Philadelphia (82-75) at Washington (70-87) 7:05 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- A three-game losing streak during the final week of the season is not usually recommended for teams trying to make the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Phillies try to avoid such a slide Wednesday when they hook up with the Washington Nationals, who hope to continue playing the role of spoiler.

Philadelphia trails the Los Angles Dodgers by one game in the National League wild card race after absorbing a 4-3 defeat vs. Washington on Tuesday. The Phillies have lost two straight games following a five-game winning streak and hope to avoid their first three-game skid since July 23-25.

Cole Hamels (9-8, 4.06 ERA) takes the mound for Philadelphia in search of his third straight win. The rookie lefthander has gone 3-1 in his last five starts. He has allowed two runs or fewer in all of those outings and in nine of his last 10 starts.

Hamels is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in three appearances against the Nationals this year, including a pair of victories in August in which he yielded just three runs and nine hits in 14 innings.

The Nationals counter with Pedro Astacio (5-5, 6.12), who will be making his third start against the Phillies this year. He faced them twice in August, going 0-1 with an 11.84 ERA to fall to 10-11 with a 5.33 ERA lifetime against Philadelphia.

Astacio has won his last two outings, including a 3-2 triumph against the New York Mets on Friday. The righthander yielded two runs in 6 1/3 innings to pick up the victory despite allowing a home run for the fifth straight start.

Rookie sensation Ryan Zimmerman drove in three runs in Washington's victory on Tuesday. Ramon Ortiz pitched seven solid innings for the Nationals, who have won four of their last five games.