Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies 7/26/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

NL East Division rivals will square off on Monday night, when the Washington Nationals invade Citizens Bank Park to take on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals (45-53) were swept by the Orioles over the weekend and have fallen eight games off the pace. On Sunday, Washington closer was unable to protect a one-run ninth inning lead during a 5-4 road loss.

Twenty-eight year old righty Joe Ross (5-8 4.02 ERA) will take the mound for the Nationals in this matchup. Last time out, Ross struck out 11 batters and gave up three runs in six plus innings during a 5-1 home loss versus Los Angeles.

The Philadelphia Phillies are ten games above .500 at home and trail first place New York by four full games. On Sunday, Jean Segura and Ronald Torreyes connected on solo shots to lead Philadelphia to a 2-1 home victory versus Atlanta. SP Aaron Nola (7-6) struck out nine batters across eight plus frames to earn the win for the Phillies, who evened their record at 49-49 on the season.

The Phillies will counter with talented right-hander Spencer Howard (0-2 5.11 ERA) in the series opener. Control has been an issue for Howard, who has walked an alarming 17 batters across 24 plus frames.