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Nationals-Phillies Preview

Apr 14, 2010 - 6:55 PM By JUSTIN EINHORN STATS Senior Editor

Washington (3-4) at Philadelphia (6-1), 7:05 p.m. EDT

No team is off to a better start at the plate than the Philadelphia Phillies. However, a big chunk of that offense won't be available Wednesday night.

It's possible the Phillies will be missing Jimmy Rollins - and possibly Jayson Werth - as they look to extend their best start in 17 years in a matchup with the Washington Nationals.

Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 11.25 ERA) takes on Craig Stammen (0-0, 7.20) in a rematch from the only game Philadelphia (6-1) has lost. Neither pitched well the first time - Washington won 6-5 on Thursday - but Stammen will have the added edge of not facing one of the Phillies' best bats.

Rollins was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, two days after straining his right calf during warmups before Monday's home opener - a 7-4 victory over the Nationals.

"I think a calf takes a while to heal," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He seemed in pretty good spirits."

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said an MRI revealed a mild to moderate strain of Rollins' right calf, and he hopes the recovery period will be two to four weeks.

While Rollins is batting .391 with seven walks leading off for Philadelphia, Werth has hit .357 but left Monday's game with a sore hip. Ben Francisco replaced Werth in right field.

Juan Castro started for Rollins, though it's possible he'll be bumped down the order while No. 7 hitter Shane Victorino - in a 3-for-22 slump - is moved to the top.

The Phillies' No. 2 hitter has keyed their hot start. Offseason acquisition Placido Polanco is among the league leaders with a .484 average, driving in 10 runs, and he had the go-ahead RBI single Monday.

Chase Utley had a two-run homer and Ryan Howard had two hits for the sixth time with his team-leading 11th RBI, helping Philadelphia maintain the major league lead in runs (50) and batting average (.307).

The Phillies are off to their best start since opening 8-1 in their 1993 pennant-winning season.

Washington (3-4) has not had nearly as much success offensively, averaging 3.7 runs while batting .218.

Slugger Adam Dunn is 2 for 18 without a homer, free agent signee Adam Kennedy is 3 for 22 and leadoff man Nyjer Morgan is in a 2-for-18 slump.

Ryan Zimmerman, coming off a career season in which he hit .292 with 33 homers and 106 RBIs, is batting .211 without a homer. He's missed the last two games with a hamstring problem but should return Wednesday, and he's hit .538 against Kendrick with an RBI double last week.

Kendrick, in the rotation because Joe Blanton is on the disabled list, was tagged for five runs in four innings.

"Looking back, I see what I did wrong and what I did right," Kendrick told MLB's official Web site. "Obviously the numbers didn't show."

In his last six starts, dating to September 2008, Kendrick is 1-2 with a 9.12 ERA and has lasted past the fourth inning once. He's 1-2 with a 5.75 ERA in seven starts against the Nationals.

Stammen didn't fare much better Thursday, allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings, though he did not walk a batter.

"My goal was not to put any extra people on base as far as walks, hit batters and stuff like that," Stammen said. "My game plan is pretty much simple: Go right at them and not be afraid."

Stammen is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA in his last eight outings.

He'll hope for more support from Josh Willingham, batting .391 after hitting a grand slam Sunday and a solo homer Monday.