Phillies @ Nationals

Who will WIN this matchup?

Philadelphia Phillies (3-0)

@ Washington Nationals (1-2)

Starting Pitchers:

Eflin (PHI): 0-0; 0.00 ERA

Scherzer (WSH) 0-1; 2.35 ERA

Last 10 Games Played:

Philadelphia Phillies: 3-0

Washington Nationals: 1-2

Current odds:

Philadelphia Phillies: (+165)

Washington Nationals: (-180)

• Bryce Harper has endeared himself to the fickle fanbase of the Philadelphia Phillies approximately a month removed from signing a 13-year, $330 million contract. While Harper has received a hero’s welcome in the City of Brotherly Love, he might get a vastly different reaction on Tuesday when the Phillies visit his former club: the Washington Nationals. “We’ll see what happens, but I really think it’s going to be mixed,” Harper told reporters of what he expects to hear on Tuesday in the opener of the abbreviated two-game series. “I think I’ll be cheered, I really do. But I think I’ll get booed, too. It’s part of sports, right?” The 2015 National League Most Valuable Player heard resounding cheers – and a few boos (it is Philadelphia, after all) – after belting a pair of homers as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep of Atlanta with a 5-1 victory on Sunday night.

• Harper will test his mettle against a familiar face in three-time Cy Young Award recipient Max Scherzer, who downplayed the significance of squaring off against his former teammate. “We’re going to be facing each other a lot. This is just the first,” Scherzer said. “Whatever happens on Tuesday, it’s going to be the course of a career of facing him. This is just round one.”

• Eflin limped down the stretch during the final two months of last season, posting a 4-6 mark in a span that included a pair of five-run efforts against Washington in August. The 24-year-old authored a significantly better performance in his first career appearance versus the Nationals, permitting two runs and striking out five in five innings of a 12-2 romp on June 22. Juan Soto (4-for-8) and Wilmer Difo (3-for-4) enjoyed success in small sample sizes against Eflin, who surrendered just 16 homers in 24 starts (128 innings) last season after yielding the same total in 11 starts (64 1/3 innings) in 2017.

• Scherzer carries a sizzling 9-2 mark with a 2.64 ERA in 17 career encounters with Philadelphia into Tuesday’s tilt, although he lost his lone decision in three starts versus the club in 2018 despite striking out 30 batters in 18 1/3 innings. The 34-year-old fanned 12 in 7 2/3 strong frames in the season-opening 2-0 loss against the New York Mets on Thursday, with Robinson Cano’s solo homer in the first inning accounting for just one of the two hits he allowed. Odubel Herrera is 14-for-41 with two homers against Scherzer, however, the pitcher traditionally has flustered J.T. Realmuto (3-for-36, 11 strikeouts) and Andrew McCutchen (4-for-25, 14 strikeouts).

• Washington SS Trea Turner, who batted 23-for-76 against Philadelphia last season, capped a two-homer performance with a walk-off solo shot in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 6-5 win over the New York Mets.

• Phillies 3B Maikel Franco recorded team highs in hits (four) and RBIs (seven) and matched Harper and McCutchen with a pair of homers in the series versus the Braves.

• Washington 3B Anthony Rendon has multi-hit performances in back-to-back performances heading into the series against Philadelphia, versus which he batted 24-for-69 with six homers and 15 RBIs last season.