Phillies v. Nationals Preview: Pitching Matchup and Props for Sept. 16

The Philadelphia Phillies will attempt to tie their series with the Washington Nationals at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, sending right-hander Zack Wheeler (3.14 ERA, 143.1 innings pitched, 1.07 WHIP and 10.80 K/9) to the mound against Nationals (71-81) lefty opener Jared Simpson (6.75 ERA, four innings pitched, 0.75 WHIP and 9 K/9) in an expected bullpen game.

Philadelphia (83-68) dropped the first game of the series 6-3 and currently sits 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East with 11 games remaining: they’re 0.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs for the National League’s top wild card spot and have one game of cushion over the San Diego Padres, who currently hold the final playoff spot. San Diego, 3.5 games behind the Phillies, is another threat as the regular season enters its final stretch.

The Phillies enter as a healthy -196 favorite on the money line: they have -113 odds of covering the run line, set at -1.5 as per usual, and the over/under sits at 8.5.

The forecast calls for a first pitch temperature around 80 degrees, humidity rising from 50 percent to 75 percent as the game goes on. Five to 12 mile per hour winds out of the south could help push balls out of the yard, potentially giving the respective offenses a jolt. NBC Sports Philadelphia will carry tonight’s broadcast, as per usual.

Pitching Matchup

Simpson made his big league debut on Sept. 1 and pitched four clean innings before getting knocked around for three runs and no outs recorded against San Diego his last time out. This appearance against the Phillies will mark the first of his young career. Wheeler got roughed up in August but has allowed just two runs through 13 innings since the calendar flipped to September. The longtime NL East arm doesn’t have a ton of experience against the Nationals because of their youth, limiting them to 21 hits in 100 at-bats; with 31 strikeouts to just five walks, Wheeler is a solid bet to hit the over for strikeouts today.

Catcher Keibert Ruiz (8-for-30 with two doubles and three homers) and shortstop CJ Abrams (8-for-27 with four doubles and two triples) could both cause trouble: the rest of the Nationals are just 5-for-43 (.116 batting average) against Wheeler, although Daylen Lile (1-for-2) and James Wood (1-for-12) each ran into a home run against him.