The Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals meet in an NL East division matchup in MLB action from Nationals Park on Friday.

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to bounce back after their 5^th straight loss following a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Cubs on Thursday. Nick Castellanos has 137 hits with 27 doubles and 61 RBIs while Kyle Schwarber also has team-highs of 42 home runs and 87 RBIs as well this season. Alec Bohm’s posting a .288 batting average and a team-high 161 hits while Rhys Hoskins has 29 home runs and 76 RBIs so far this season. J.T. Realmuto also has 82 RBIs as well this season. Bailey Falter will start game one and is 5-4 with a 4.21 ERA and 68 strikeouts this season.

The Washington Nationals will look to build some steam after salvaging a win against Atlanta after a 3-2 win over the Braves from their series finale last time out. Cesar Hernandez has 133 hits with 27 doubles while Maikel Franco also has 85 hits and 15 doubles of his own. Keibert Ruiz also has 22 doubles and Nelson Cruz has 64 RBIs as well this season. Lane Thomas also has 17 home runs and 52 RBIs while Yadiel Hernandez has 41 RBIs as well this season. Erick Fedde will start game one and is 6-11 with a 5.34 ERA and 90 strikeouts this season while the Nationals did not have a starting pitcher announced for game two at the time that this article was posted.

Philadelphia is 2-6 in their last 8 division games and 13-5 in their last 18 Friday games while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Washington is 25-53 in their last 78 games overall and 31-72 in their last 103 home games while the under is 8-1-2 in their last 11 games overall.

I get the case to be made for either side in this one, but I’m going to roll with the same bet in both legs of the double-header on Friday and that’s going to be backing Philadelphia. The Phillies have had their hiccups down the stretch, but for me the stark reality is that the Phils need to keep winning games to keep the Brewers at bay and to hopefully lock up a wild card spot in the coming days. Are Bailey Falter and Noah Syndergaard my favorite pitchers to back? No, but the Phils can’t afford to take Washington lightly in any way, shape or form. Give me the Phillies here.