The Philadelphia Phillies are fading quickly from laiyongcai92's blog

in the National League East race and will try to avoid a sweep Wednesday night against a team they’re still ahead of in the standings.The Phillies host the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night in the finale of a three-game set. Jake Arrieta (9-9 Brandon Crawford Jersey , 3.37 ERA) will face Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez (7-11, 4.35) at Citizens Bank Park.The Phillies (70-62), following a ninth inning meltdown in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss, have fallen 4 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. It ties their largest deficit in the division this season.Article continues below ...They are also 2 1/2 games out of the second wild card spot after the loss Tuesday. The Phillies are 6-13 in their last 19 games and, including the current series against Washington, have not won any of their last seven series.“It’s a super difficult loss to swallow. And we’ll be ready to come out and fight (Wednesday),” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “… I don’t worry about this group at all. This group is so tenacious and so resilient, they’re going to get up (Wednesday) and we’re going to be ready to take on Gio Gonzalez. We’re already looking forward to that.”Arrieta http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-brandon-belt-jersey , one of the most-seasoned Phillies’ players and a 2016 World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs, is trying to stop a personal losing streak. Philadelphia has lost all four of Arrieta’s starts in August, though the veteran right-hander has a 3.60 ERA this month and opponents are hitting .226 against him in that span.Arrieta gave up four runs on six hits, including two homers, and three walks across six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start. It was Arrieta’s third straight outing in which he took a loss.Arrieta is 1-2 with a 4.89 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 11 career starts against Washington.Gonzalez, a fellow 32-year-old, also has picked up three losses in his last three starts.Gonzalez has struggled in August with a 6.84 ERA in five starts, but he was much sharper in his last outing. Gonzalez allowed one run on seven hits and went seven innings against the New York Mets on Friday. Washington Jeff Samardzija Jersey , however, was shut out 3-0.“It was just one of those games,” Gonzalez told reporters after the game. “I’m happy to turn things around, but I wish I could have been better.”Gonzalez will be making his 26th career start against the Phillies on Wednesday. He is 11-7 with a 2.69 ERA versus Philadelphia.The Nationals (67-66), who are eight games behind Atlanta, are 8-7 against the Phillies this season after taking the first two games of this series.Ryan Zimmerman has been a big part of a few of those wins, including a 3-for-4 performance with three doubles Tuesday night. Zimmerman is hitting .474 with six extra-base hits in five games against the Phillies this season.Zimmerman, though http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-johnny-cueto-jersey , is 5-for-21 with 10 strikeouts versus Arrieta. MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former baseball commissioner Bud Selig still would like to cut down the time it takes to play a game.The average length of time for a nine-inning game was 3 hours, 44 seconds this year, down from 3:05:11 in 2017. Games have gradually taken longer since 2005, when the average length was 2:46.Speaking before Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Friday night, Selig said 2:45 would be an ideal length.“I keep being reminded by guys who played the game for years, they never stepped out of the box, nobody ever allowed them to step out of the box,” Selig said.A Hall of Famer and former Brewers owner. Selig threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Milwaukee hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers.Replay reviews and commercials are among factors that have lengthened games.“There were things that we did that I didn’t like Mark Melancon Jersey , and I worried about what it would do to the game, like pitch clocks, but we’re living in a different generation,” he said. “They’re very sensitive. If we can get back to 2:45, I’d be very happy.”Selig said it was hard to be critical of teams that chose to long-term strategies to rebuild back to contender status, a path followed by the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs in recent years.“Tell me another way, especially if you’re in a medium to small market, but even in a big-market club http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-deion-sanders-jersey , that you can rebuild if you don’t have a farm system that’s producing top-notch talent. There is no other way,” Selig said.So all these people that (complain) and yell and scream and holler — if you ask, ‘What’s your alternative?’ They don’t have one,” he added.