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Hamels attempts to halt Phillies' three-game slide

May 20, 2008 - 12:40 PM Philadelphia (24-22) at Washington (20-26) 7:10 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - Cole Hamels looks to end the Philadelphia Phillies' three-game losing streak when the club continues a four-game set against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Hamels (5-3, 2.89 ERA) dominated Atlanta, 5-0, in his last start Thursday, yielding just four hits while striking out six to post his third straight win.

Philadelphia's offense needs to get going as the team has scored a total of just eight runs over the last three contests, including Monday's 4-0 series-opening loss to Washington.

It was only the second shutout loss of the season for the Phillies, both coming in starts vs. Washington's Tim Redding.

That outing was typical of the Nationals recently as they have averaged less than four runs over their last six contests, but have won four of those games in part because they have yielded only 15 runs in that time. Washington has surrendered one run or less in three of its last five games.

Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45) will be looking to emulate that success as he takes the mound opposite Hamels. Like his opponent on Tuesday, the righthander was dominant in his last start, yielding just three hits and striking out nine over seven frames in a 1-0 win over the New York Mets on Thursday.