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Phillies look to gain ground in NL East race

Sep 3, 2008 - 12:37 PM Philadelphia (76-63) at Washington (53-86) 7:10 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies are trying to win the National League East. The Washington Nationals are trying to avoid the worst record in the major leagues.

The Phillies will look to move one step closer to the playoffs with a win in the rubber match of a three-game series Wednesday.

Philadelphia sits two games behind the New York Mets (78-61) in the NL East with 23 games left to play. The Phillies will have to be careful not to overlook Wednesday's series finale with a three-game series looming in New York over the weekend.

If the division race comes down to the final week of the season, Philadelphia would seem to have the advantage with a six-game homestand against fourth-place Atlanta and fifth-place Washington rounding out the 2008 campaign.

The Nationals sit one game behind the San Diego Padres (53-84) for the worst record in the majors following Tuesday's 4-0 loss.

The Phillies will send righthander Joe Blanton (1-0, 3.92 ERA) to the mound in the finale. The burly 27-year-old has performed well recently, going 1-0 with a 3.35 ERA in his last seven outings.

Blanton allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings in a no-decision against Washington on August 19.

The Nationals will counter with lefthander Odalis Perez (6-10, 4.14). The Dominican native owns a 6-3 career mark with a 2.70 ERA in 14 games - nine starts - against Philadelphia.