Phillies Looks To Sweep No. 1 Nationals

The Philadelphia Phillies may not have a chance at hitting the playoffs, but that has not stopped them from turning it on late in the season by taking it to the NL East leaders the Washington Nationals.

Their success can be placed on the a pair of strong pitching efforts in the first two games of this three-game series.

It was A.J. Burnett and Cole Hamels who led the Phillies to their first series win within their division since June. It is now up to Kyle Kendrick to finish off the Nationals.

Kendrick is going to have to sort out some first inning problems before he takes the mound if he wants to finish off the sweep. In his last start, he allowed three runs in the first inning. His first-inning ERA is now at 9.69 with batters hitting .358 against him.

Kendrick, though, only allowed one earned run over the next 5 2/3 innings to get his team the win. Overall his ERA is 4.93.

The Nationals will be sending Doug Fister to the mound as they look to pick up a win in this series. Fister is coming off a cancer scare, having skin cancer removed from his neck, but is said to be ready to pitch.

In his last outing, Fister took a loss to the San Francisco Giants, allowing four run over six inning.

Overall, Fister is a dominate pitcher. He is 12-4 and has a 2.38 ERA, meaning the Phillies will need to find a way to hit against the right-hander.

Despite the Phillies on the edge of a sweep, the Nationals are the favorites to win this one with a -160 moneyline. To bet on the Phillies the moneyline is set at +145.