I had the “privilege” of attending the game against the Marlins on Tuesday night. After a bad road trip, a home game against the Marlins should have rejuvenated the team. Instead, it was one of the most unpleasant games I have ever had the misfortune to attend.

Taijuan Walker got the crowd going by allowing two runs in the first inning. The team could have fought back and given us some hope, but the offense was even more lifeless than the fans and seemed content to hit one weak pop-up after another. I almost preferred a crushing loss because that would have given me an excuse to leave early rather than die a slow death.

When the Phillies ran into trouble early again on Wednesday, it was time to panic and wonder if the team was irrevocably finished.

Fortunately, the team responded better than they did on Tuesday. They scored a few early runs and after the Marlins extended their lead, the team finally got the big hit that had been sorely missing over the past few weeks.

But it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve felt like the Phillies were pulling themselves out of a slump. As recently as Friday morning, the Phillies had won three games in a row and it felt like the worst was behind them.

The next four days may determine whether Schwarber’s hit will ultimately be seen as the moment that put the Phillies back on the winning track, or whether it was just a brief moment of happiness in a season that was spiraling toward disaster.

Washington Nationals

Record: 55-66, fourth place in the National League East (15.5 games back)

The last time they met

In May, when the Phillies could seemingly do no wrong, the Nats visited Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series. The Nats kept the first two games close and even took the second to overtime before losing, but in the finale the Phillies put an exclamation point on the series with an 11-5 victory.

What’s going on with the Nationals?

The Nationals have struggled since the All-Star break with a record of 11-13. They were sellers at the trade deadline, trading away Hunter Harvey, Jesse Winker, Lane Thomas and Dylan Floro. With the loss of those veterans, they will lean heavily on young players like Luis Garcia, Jr., CJ Abrams and James Wood.

The early results have been decent. Since the All-Star break, the Nats are fifth in the National League in runs scored. It will be difficult for them to maintain that position, considering that they have only hit 17 home runs during that time, the fewest in the league.

If only the Nationals could get a player as good as Juan Soto!

As for pitchers, the Nats haven’t performed so well since the break, ranking 13th in the league in ERA. (One spot ahead of the Phillies!) Of course, trading several relievers has had a negative impact on the bullpen, and the starters’ performance has fluctuated between mediocre and poor.

This is the quartet that will face the Phillies:

Mitchell Parker: Rookie who has performed well in his last three starts after seemingly hitting his rookie wall in July.

Patrick Corbin: Has any player tested the limits of “flags fly forever” like Corbin? He helped them win the 2019 World Series, but has been terrible since then.

MacKenzie Gore: He seemed poised to have a breakout season, but he’s struggled since early June, walking six batters in four innings in his last start.

Jake Irvin: Another pitcher whose performance got worse as the season went on. He allowed a lot of home runs, which is good news for a Phillies team that hasn’t been hitting as many home runs as it should have lately.

Who is to blame?

There has been some debate about who is more to blame for the Phillies’ problems: the offense or the pitching and defense?

The pitching certainly played its part:

It’s extremely demoralizing for an offense to face an early deficit every night. And it seems that when the starter is pitching well, the bullpen either can’t hold onto the lead or turns a close game into a blowout.

But no matter how demoralised they are, far too many batsmen are underperforming, and not just a little bit:

As the guy who used to play center for the Eagles would say: It’s the whole team!

Apples and oranges

Speaking of the Eagles, I want to remind everyone that just because the Eagles had an epic second-half collapse in 2023 doesn’t mean the Phillies will suffer the same fate. Even when the Eagles were leading in the first half, it felt like they weren’t playing that well and were very lucky.

Many of you probably remember the 1995 season, when the Phillies had the best record in baseball at the end of June, but then plummeted to 69-75. But that team never seemed as talented and also struggled with injuries to key players like Darren Daulton and Curt Schilling.

That doesn’t feel like it here. Some players (Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, Edmundo Sosa) definitely played above their means early on, but for the most part they had a roster full of talented players who played well. And aside from Ranger Suarez, the roster is as healthy as you can find in mid-August.

In some ways, the decline is all the more frustrating because there is no underlying cause for it. But it should also give us hope that it will not be permanent.

Things to know

Answer of the last series: When the Phillies lost to the Pirates on July 30, 2023, they blew saves by Seranthony Dominguez and Yunior Marte. Chappdaddy named them both, but he was rather reserved in his response.

The question of this series: Before the team was renamed the Washington Nationals for the 2005 season, the Phillies won the last game between the Phillies and the Montreal Expos on September 26, 2004, 2-1. Which player scored both of the Phillies’ runs?

Non-Phillies thought

The title of this preview is a line from the classic Guns N’ Roses song “Sweet Child of Mine.” But supposedly the line was originally just a placeholder because Axl Rose couldn’t think of lyrics for a third verse. It was suggested that Axl should actually use the line, and history was made.

The entire song is something of a happy accident, as guitarist Slash played the famous riff as a warm-up and the rest of the band liked it so much that they wanted to use it in a song.

Final thought

The Phillies need to win at least three of those four games and prove that they have indeed recovered from the malaise that has plagued them for the past few weeks. Because if they can’t beat the Nationals, who are also underdogs, at home at this point, who can they beat?