My Team - Nationals at Philadelphia

Proposed starting pitchers -

Monday: Strasburg vs Hamels
Tuesday: Gonzalez vs Martin
Wednesday: Zimmermann vs Halladay

Sunday night, the Nationals averted getting swept at home by a depleted New York Mets' team. Wow. Starting Labor Day night, the Nats have a three-game set in Philadelphia. The Phils lost the last two of a three-game set in Chicago over the weekend. With interim manager Ryne Sandberg, the team is auditioning new guys while trying to be competitive enough to keep the veterans interested. The Phils just traded Michael Young, so Philly is even deeper in "build for '14" mode.

Hamels has had success against Washington lately, so he's not afraid of facing them. His won-loss record isn't great, he's pitching well this year. Martin is a young guy who's having growing pains at the MLB level. Halladay has a strong rep, but is just now coming back from injury (shoulder, required surgery). Who knows how effective he'll be.

With position players, the Phils signed Roger Bernadina. He's a good defender, and is auditioning for the CF job for next year. Will he hit enough to be a viable candidate? Will he try too hard in this series, to prove a point to his former team?

The rest of the lineup still has Utley, Rollins, Ruiz and Brown. Guys like Asche (3B) and Ruf (1B/OF) are getting extended looks. Ruf is a strong, strong man - pitch him carefully.

Defensively, Utley's range is slightly diminished. Same with Rollins. Maybe Washington can take advantage of Philadelphia's infield defense.

For Washington, will Werth ever cool off? Will Desmond get more selective at the plate? Will Moore keep up his torrid streak since his recall from AAA Syracuse?

On Monday, I suspect Hamels outduels Strasburg, like two gunfighters in yet another old Western movie. Gonzalez should pitch well on Tuesday, and get the win, For the rubber game on Wednesday, will we see the Halladay of old, or just an old Halladay? That answer is the key to who wins the third game of this series.

The Nats are chasing the wild card, but losing two of three to the Mets isn't the way to go about it.