By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Phillies close out the home portion of their schedule tonight with one more game against the Washington Nationals.

A victory would give the Phillies a winning record at Citizens Bank Park as they bring a 40-40 home ledger into action.

Tyler Cloyd makes his sixth Major league start for the Phillies.  The right-hander has done a pretty good job since being called up from AAA, going 2-1 in five starts with a 3.86 ERA.  Last time out he shut down the Mets over eight innings, allowing just a run on three hits in a 16-1 win.  This will be his first appearance against the Nats.

Washington gives the ball to Cy Young candidate Gio Gonzalez.  The left-hander is 20-8 with a 2.84 ERA.  In his career against the Phillies, Gonzalez is 2-1 in three starts with a 1.89 ERA.  He actually spent time in the Phillies farm system, going 7-12 for AA Reading in 2006.  He was acquired by the Phils from the White Sox in November of 2005 in the Jim Thome deal and then traded back to Chicago in December of 2006, in the unfortunate trade for Freddy Garcia.

Phillies are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, but its not much more than a mathematical hope.  They are 5 1/2 games out of the second wildcard slot with just seven games left to play.

KYW’s Matt Leon spoke with Kevin Cooney, Phillies beat writer for Calkins Media and PhillyBurbs.com, about the match-up and what to expect the rest of the way.

LISTEN: Matt Leon interviews Kevin Cooney

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.