Philadelphia at Washington

Philadelphia is in last place for a reason, No. 20 in runs scored, No. 27 in on-base percentage and No. 24 in slugging. This offense has looked old all season and clearly misses Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They got out-hit 15-5 yesterday in a 7-1 loss to Washington. This is the sixth straight road game for the Phillies and they've lost 3 of 4 games. First place Washington plays its sixth straight home game and has the top pitching staff in baseball with a 2.36 team ERA. Jordan Zimmermann starts here with a 1.89 ERA and a remarkable 22-3 strikeout to walk ratio! The Nationals are 12-2 in their last 14 games as a home favorite, 7-2 in their last nine games vs. a left-handed starter and 30-12 in their last 42 home games against a team with a losing road record. The Phillies are 0-7 in the last seven meetings, plus 1-6 in the last seven meetings in Washington. Play the Nationals. In addition, don't look for much scoring. This is a night game in Washington with cooler air, which doesn't help the hitters. Most important this is a huge park in Washington, great for pitchers, as you can tell by the National's team ERA. The Nationals are on a 30-14 run UNDER the total. Cole Hamels goes for the Phillies and Philadelphia is 43-20-4 UNDER the total in his last 67 starts. The UNDER is 5-1 in Hamels' last six road starts as well as 5-1 UNDER in his last six road starts against a team with a winning record. Washington doesn't have a powerhouse offense and the UNDER is 35-16-1 in the Nationals’ last 52 games vs. a left-handed starter. When Jordan Zimmermann starts with four days of rest, the UNDER is 10-2 for Washington. Play the UNDER.