Game 71 lineups: Nats at Phillies

Well, guess what? There's another ballgame to be played in Philadelphia. This afternoon. The buzz from Tuesday night's histrionics hasn't dissipated yet, but the Nationals and Phillies can't wait for that to happen before taking the field again for the finale of this quick, two-game series.

The Nats, by virtue of a dramatic 3-2 win that was overshadowed by Joe Girardi's attempt to get into Max Scherzer's head (or, at least, his sweaty hair), are now in position to sweep the mini-series and extend their red-hot streak to nine out of 10.

They would love to jump out to an early lead like they did in the opener, but this time they'd love to add on even more than the three runs they scored off Zack Wheeler and take out Vince Velasquez early. They did score four in four innings off the perpetually wild Velasquez earlier this month in the game that that turned into a disaster of a 12-6 loss, so the right-hander certainly is gettable. But it'll require some sustained rallies, and maybe the occasional hit that plates more than one run at a time.

A big lead is important for a few reasons. First of all, it would provide Erick Fedde with some cushion and allow the surging starter to continue his recent dominant ways. (He enters this one with a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings.) And it potentially would allow Davey Martinez to give his closer a much-needed breather. Brad Hand has pitched four of the last five days, and Tuesday night he threw 34 pitches to record a four-out save. If his team could enter the late innings with a lead of more than three runs, Martinez could proceed with someone else out of the bullpen for a change.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 73 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
LF Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
2B Josh Harrison
C Alex Avila
3B Starlin Castro
CF Victor Robles
RHP Erick Fedde

PHILLIES
CF Odúbel Herrera
1B Rhys Hoskins
RF Bryce Harper
C J.T. Realmuto
2B Brad Miller
3B Alec Bohm
LF Travis Jankowski
SS Ronald Torreyes
RHP Vince Velasquez