Phillies at Nationals: September 5th to September 7th

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
Nationals Park - Washington, D.C.

Phillies 64-75, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals
Nationals 79-59, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 7 games ahead of the Braves

Phillies Probables:  Jerome Williams (3-0, 2.03), A.J. Burnett (7-15, 4.40), Cole Hamels (8-6, 2.50)
Nationals Probables:  Stephen Strasburg (11-10, 3.49), Tanner Roark (12-9, 2.91), Gio Gonzalez (7-9, 3.89)

At the Ballpark:  There doesn't appear to be any giveaways during this series - just a bunch of ticket promotions and various themes.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .314

Runs:  Jimmy Rollins - 75

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 25

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 87

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 42

Wins:  Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick - 8

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.50

Strikeouts:  A.J. Burnett and Cole Hamels - 165

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 33

1988 Topps #415 and #93

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I bet you didn't think you'd see a post in your blogroll today featuring cards of Don Carman and Bob Sebra.

Carman and Sebra were temporarily teammates on the 1988 and 1989 Phillies teams.  Carman was a long-time Phillies player, appearing in 312 games with the club between 1983 and 1990.  He went 53-52 with a respectable 4.06 ERA while serving as both a starting pitcher and a reliever.  He was also briefly the team's closer in 1985, saving seven games.  If you haven't ever read through Carman's list of canned responses to reporter's questions, take some time this Friday evening to acquaint yourself with the lefty's wit.

Sebra made it onto both the 1988 and 1989 Phillies Missing Links lists.  In just nine games between the two seasons, Sebra went 3-5 with a 5.32 ERA.  The Phils acquired Sebra from the Expos on September 1, 1988 for minor leaguer Travis Chambers.  Less than a year later, they traded him to the Reds for pitcher Jeff Gray, who never suited up for the Phillies.