The Phillies embark tonight on their most important three game series in 14 years. They do it against the hapless fourth place Nationals.
Among some fans, there's a perception that the Nationals give the Phillies trouble. That may have been true in years past, but the numbers this year don't show it.
Here's a chart of the two teams' performances in the 15 games they've played already this year:
| Phillies | Nationals | |
| AVG | 0.245 | 0.235 |
| OBP | 0.333 | 0.308 |
| SLG | 0.411 | 0.339 |
| OPS | 0.744 | 0.647 |
| HR | 18 | 7 |
| R | 71 | 55 |
| R/G | 4.73 | 3.67 |
| BB | 66 | 50 |
| K | 117 | 100 |
| ERA | 3.22 | 4.09 |
| WHIP | 1.22 | 1.40 |
| W | 10 | 5 |
| L | 5 | 10 |
Aside from striking out more (which really doesn't matter), the Phillies' offense and pitching has performed decidedly better than the Nationals' in the 15 games.
Three more games of performances like the 15 already in the books and the Phillies should be playing October ball this year.