Phillies helped by not facing Max Scherzer an extra time
Neither team was thinking about competitive advantages yesterday when the Phillies and Nationals decided not to play their series finale in D.C.
Seven games across MLB were postponed Thursday as players and teams chose to sit out in protest of racial injustice and police brutality. The Phillies and Nationals stood together and held a joint press conference with managers Joe Girardi and Dave Martinez and players Rhys Hoskins and Josh Harrison to talk about why they wouldn’t play and the change they’d like to see.
The schedule change is pretty beneficial for the Phils in a baseball sense.
The postponed Phillies-Nationals series finale will be made up on Sept. 22 as part of a doubleheader. Max Scherzer was scheduled to pitch Thursday. Moving the game to next month guarantees the Phillies can face Scherzer a maximum of two times this season as opposed to three.
When it’s Max Scherzer, that makes a big difference.
Scherzer pitches tonight in Boston. The way the schedule lines up, he should pitch the middle of game of next week’s Phillies-Nationals series at Citizens Bank Park.
The teams meet for the final time Sept. 21-23 for a four-game series with a doubleheader on the second day. It is possible the schedule could allow the Phillies to miss Scherzer in that series as well, though if the Nats are in striking distance of a playoff spot they would likely maneuver their rotation to make sure Scherzer goes in one of those four games.
Spencer Howard was supposed to pitch Thursday but the Phillies skipped his spot, for now, and will start Zack Wheeler in the series opener against the Braves.
