The Philadelphia Phillies can’t afford a loss at this point. They are in a heated battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL Wild Card. The Phillies are playing the 70-87 Washington Nationals—a beatable team. These are games they are supposed to win. On Tuesday the Phillies just didn’t have the means to stage a comeback. Despite scoring a run in the 9th inning, the Phillies fell short and lost to the Nationals 4-3.

The pitching tandem of Suppan, Wainwright and Isringhausen shut down the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. The three-pitcher combo allowed just 5 hits and 4 walks over 9 innings of work. The Cardinals got runs in the 1st and 7th innings to beat the Nationals 2-0 and maintain their course towards the 2006 playoffs.

Yesterday the Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 3-1. Today they go at it again. Florida is playing slightly above expectations this year. The difference has been their rookie pitching. The rookies account for a majority of the wins. Today, Johnson takes the mound for the Marlins. He’s 11-6 with a 2.84 ERA this season. His last outing was against the surging Los Angeles Dodgers—he got the win.

Outfielder Jose Guillen of the Washington Nationals is going to have season ending surgery tomorrow. His right elbow is completely shot. There is a torn ligament in the elbow. You might know this surgery as Tommy John surgery. It’s been determined that Guillen simply can’t play anymore unless the surgery is done. When finished, he’s going to have to spend at least 8 months trying to rehabilitate. In fact, it could take up to 18 months or so.