Who were those guys in Nationals uniforms on Friday night and why haven't we seen more of them in this final month of the season? It's too late for them to rewrite the past, but perhaps the 9-1 loss to the Phillies bodes well for the rest of the weekend.

On the other hand, the Nats have to face Zack Wheeler, the perennial Cy Young candidate who enters his final run before the postseason with a 16-7 record and a 2.56 ERA, with two of those wins coming against Washington. Notably, this is Wheeler's 35th career start against the Nationals, and while his overall numbers (14-15, 4.50 ERA) aren't great, he's doing much better since leaving the Mets and joining the Phillies in 2020.

For the final time, MacKenzie Gore enters a season of ups and downs and hopes to finish strong. The left-hander enters the race with 10 wins and an ERA of 4.04. To end up with an ERA in the 3.00s, he must give up either one run in at least 4 2/3 innings or two runs in at least 6 1/3 innings. That will be a challenge against this lineup, but we'll see if he can do it.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Playing time: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out of left field

Nationals
2B Luis Garcia Jr.
LF James Wood
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Jose Tena
DH Juan Yepez
RF Dylan Crews
1B Joey Gallo
CF Jacob Young
SS Nasim Nunez

LHP MacKenzie Gore

PHILLIES
DH Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
1B Bryce Harper
RF Nick Castellanos
3B Alec Bohm
CJT Realmuto
2B Bryson Stott
LF Weston Wilson
CF Brandon Marsh

RHP Zack Wheeler