Gamethread 9/3: Nationals at Phillies

At 4:05 today, the Phillies host Washington for the 4th and final game of this series.

The Phils have won the first three and are looking for a sweep, which would be their first in a 4-game series since the epic one against the Mets on June 24-27 of last year.

A win would also make it 9 in 10 games, which Bryce Harper had said was the type of streak the Phillies needed to go on to get their season back on track.

Roman Quinn is playing center field and leading off today. JT Realmuto gets an easier game as the DH, with Andrew Knapp filling in behind the plate.

Zach Eflin looks to continue building on a solid start to his season, including a 7-inning outing of 4 hits and 1 run against the Braves his last time out.

Anibal Sanchez gets the ball for the Nationals, who will go with this lineup:

But before the game starts, the Phillies will add Dick Allen’s #15 to their relatively short list of retired numbers — an honor that’s very well deserved. That will hopefully be followed by Allen’s induction to the Hall of Fame when the “Golden Days” committee meets again, after he fell just one vote shy when they last met. That next vote was going to be this coming December, but due to Covid-19 has now been pushed back to December 2021.