The Philadelphia Phillies have matched a season best by catapulting 10 games above .500
But as the reigning National League champions, they seemingly haven't come close to reaching their full potential just yet
The Phillies won two of three games against the Kansas City Royals over the weekend and will now host the Washington Nationals in a four-game series that begins with a doubleheader on Tuesday
The two teams were supposed to open the series on Monday, but the game was rained out
Tuesday's twin bill will begin at 4:05 p.m. ET, with Game 2 scheduled for 7:05 p.m
Philadelphia's offense has been rolling, averaging 6.8 runs over the last five games
In Sunday's 8-4 win over the Royals, Kyle Schwarber snapped a 0-for-19 skid with a home run
"I always have confidence in him," Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said of Schwarber
Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos also homered. Bryce Harper hit a double among his two hits and extended his on-base streak to 14 games
Trea Turner, who had been scuffling much of the season since signing an 11-year, $300 million contract, went 4-for-12 with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs in the Kansas City series. Following a social media campaign to support Turner, the fans gave him numerous standing ovations across the three games
"I thought the whole weekend was pretty darn cool," Harper said of the support for Turner. "These fans here get it.
Zack Wheeler (8-5, 3.71 ERA) and Ranger Suarez (2-5, 4.01) are scheduled to start in the doubleheader for the Phillies. Wheeler will pitch in the opener
Wheeler is 10-14 with a 4.66 ERA in 30 career starts against the Nationals, while Suarez is 6-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 13 career games (six starts) versus Washington
The surging Nationals have won four straight heading into this doubleheader
After a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday, the Nationals swept the Cincinnati Reds, outscoring them 19-9 during the three-game set. Washington is also 11-5 over its last 16 games
"I think they're starting to believe in one another. When one guy doesn't do something, they feel like the next guy will do the job," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "So that's the beautiful thing about playing a team game. Everybody's got to put forth an effort. They're all doing it, they're all pulling for one another and they're having fun doing it.
CJ Abrams led off Sunday's 6-3 win with a home run. Lane Thomas then homered on the first pitch of his at-bat
Abrams finished with four hits for the second time in his career. He singled twice and also doubled
"It's fun watching (Abrams) play. He crushed that ball -- I thought it was going to go out of the stadium," Thomas said. "So yeah, it was cool to put another big swing behind him.
Abrams was acquired from the Padres as part of the deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego at last year's trade deadline
Trevor Williams (5-6, 4.72) and Josiah Gray (7-9, 3.54) are expected to start for the Nationals, with Williams set to take the mound in Game 1
Williams is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) against the Phillies. Gray is 2-2 with a 4.95 ERA in seven career starts versus Philadelphia
--Field Level Medi