Phillies' doubleheader vs. Nats rescheduled for Friday

CHICAGO -- The remnants of Hurricane Ian are expected to bring inclement weather to the Washington, D.C., region this weekend.

Due to the forecast, the Phillies will play a split doubleheader against the Nationals on Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET and at 7:05 p.m. at Nationals Park because of heavy rain projected Saturday from the storm. The Phillies had been scheduled to play one game Friday, a split doubleheader Saturday and one game Sunday.

The tentative plan is to play games Saturday at 1:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

Bailey Falter will start Game 1 on Friday and Noah Syndergaard will follow for Game 2. Both pitchers left for D.C. early Thursday morning from Chicago.

“Just late getting there and we got the 1:00 [game] tomorrow,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “We’re sending Falter because it’s a 1:00 game, the early game. So, we just sent Syndergaard with him [for] protection.”

Syndergaard, who last appeared out of the bullpen on Sept. 21, will make his first start since Sept. 15. But Thomson isn’t worried about the right-hander's workload heading into the doubleheader. Syndergaard threw a heavy bullpen session during Tuesday’s game against the Cubs and should be in a good spot physically.

“We’ll see how it goes during the day and how he feels, but he’s a big, strong guy,” Thomson said. “He might be able to give you 90-100 pitches like he normally would and he had a really good bullpen the other day.”

In the event Syndergaard can’t give the Phils his usual workload, Thomson is prepared to use some of his relievers in both games if he has to.

“We’ll see how guys are,” Thomson said. “I'd certainly rather not. I think you’re putting guys in harm’s way. But [these are] important games. The old saying is, ‘It's easy to lose doubleheaders, but it’s hard to sweep.’”

The team is prepared for Friday’s doubleheader, knowing that this weekend's series will be crucial for its playoff bid.

“[We] got to win them both,” Thomson said.

As for the rest of the series, Kyle Gibson is scheduled to start on Saturday and Zack Wheeler on Sunday.

The Phillies, who entered Thursday's finale against the Cubs having lost nine of their last 12 games, are trying to clinch their first postseason appearance since 2011. Philadelphia’s magic number was seven entering Thursday, with the Phils holding just a half-game lead over the Brewers for the third NL Wild Card. The Phillies, however, own the tiebreaker over Milwaukee, so if the teams tie, the Phillies would make the postseason.

The Phillies were 80-62 on Sept. 14 with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Brewers.

“I feel good about [where we are at],” Thomson said. “We’re still in the driver’s seat, and like I’ve always said, this is the time that you look forward to playing. You know you’re in the hunt, you’re in the driver’s seat, you've got to get it done. You've got to enjoy this, just go out and play.”