Nats knock off Phillies 7-4; winning streak now at 7 games
Check out Pete McElroy's Minor League Report: Nationals GCL team falls one win shy of title
Washington's 7-4 win over the Phillies extended their season-high winning streak to seven games. It's the longest such streak since the Nationals won 10 in a row from June 2-12, 2005.
Tim Redding, who didn't give up his first hit until one out in the sixth, allowed three runs on two hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings to earn his 10th win of the season. The 10 wins match his career high. He had 10 with the Astros in 2003.
With the Nationals leading 6-0 entering the sixth, Shane Victorino legged out an infield single with one-out. It was the first hit Redding surrendered. After Victorino stole second and moved to third on Jesus Flores' throwing error, Ryan Howard doubled him home. That quickly, the no-hitter and shutout were gone.
Redding walked Jason Werth and Manny Acta pulled him for left-hander Charlie Manning. Manning walked the only batter he faced to load the bases. Marco Estrada came in and walked pinch-hitter Pat Burrell to force in a run.
Estrada then hit Chris Coste to force in the third run of the inning. It was the third Phillie hit by a pitch on the afternoon. Pinch-hitter Carlos Ruiz stepped in and had a chance to get the Phillies closer, but Estrada got him to ground out to end the inning.
The Nationals jumped on Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick in the first. With Cristian Guzman on second and Ryan Zimmerman on first, Kendrick uncorked a wild pitch to put them in scoring position. Lastings Milledge singled both home for the 2-0 lead.
Washington blew the game open with a four-run fourth, but it looked like they weren't going to score after two big mistakes. Flores and Emilio Bonifacio hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Redding, trying to sacrifice them over, bunted too hard and Flores was forced out at third.
Bonifacio was then caught leaning towards third before Kendrick threw to the plate and Kendrick nailed him at third for the second out of the inning. It was called a caught stealing, but easily could've been a pick-off.
Willie Harris came up and tripled to right, scoring Redding for the 3-0 lead. Guzman followed with a double and the Nationals led 4-0. Zimmerman connected for a 2-run blast to center field, giving Washington the 6-0 lead.
Flores doubled home Elijah Dukes in the seventh for the Nationals' final run. Jesus Colome gave up a solo homer to Jimmy Rollins in the ninth. It was the only run the bullpen allowed on the day.
Postgame Notes
Washington's season-best 7-game winning streak is the longest current winning streak in the Majors. The 7-gamer is the 2nd longest streak since the franchise relocated to the District in 2005. The longest winning streak in Washington Nationals (2005-present) history was a Franchise record-tying 10-game run, June 2-12, 2005.
Tim Redding allowed one run and just 2 hits in 5 2/3 innings to earn his 10th win. The 10 wins match a career high for the 2nd time. He also won 10 games with Houston in 2003. Redding is the Nationals' first double-digit winner since Ramon Ortiz won 11 for Washington in '06. Redding is now 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA in five starts against the Phillies this season.
Cristian Guzman has hit .447 (21-for-47) with 4 doubles, one triple, one homer and 8 RBI in his last 10 games, including multi-hit efforts in the last 7 games.
Ryan Zimmerman's 2-out, 2-run homer gave the Nationals a 6-0 advantage and capped a 4-run fourth inning. He has hit safely in his last 7 games at a .444 (12-for-27) clip with eight runs, two doubles, two homers, six RBI and .515 OBP.
Including his 2-run single in the first inning, Lastings Milledge is 40-for-134 (.299) with five doubles, six home runs, 18 RBI and a .362 OBP in 36 games since being reinstated from the 15-Day DL, July 23.
Audio: Lastings Milledge discusses the Nats winning streak
Each of Washington's 9 starters collected a base hit, with 5 recording at least one RBI.
Final Linescore
Phillies 4-4-1
Nationals 7-12-2
WP-Redding (10-8)
LP-Kendrick (11-8)
HR-Zimmerman (10), Rollins (10)
Pete McElroy's Live Gameblog
Nationals scoring, 7th inning
Jesus Flores drove home Elijah Dukes with an RBI double in the seventh to give the Nationals a four-run lead; 7-3.
Dukes singled and advanced to second on shortstop Jimmy Rollins throwing error and scored easily on Flores two-base hit. It was Flores' 59th RBI of the season.
Phillies scoring, 6th inning
Tim Redding lost his no-hitter and shut out in the same inning, but left the game with a 6-1 lead and two runners on base.
Shane Victorino's infield single broke up Redding's no-hitter with one out in the sixth. Victorino stole second and moved to third on Jesus Flores' throwing error. Two batters later, Ryan Howard doubled home Victorino to give the Phillies their first run of the game. After Redding walked Jason Werth, he was lifted for Charlie Manning.
Manning walked the only batter he faced and was replaced by Marco Estrada. Estrada walked pinch-hitter Pat Burrell to force in a run and he hit Chris Coste to force in another run and make it a 6-3 game. Estrada, left to fend for himself, got pinch-hitter Carlos Ruiz to ground out to end the inning.
Redding's strange afternoon
Redding gave up his first hit of the game in the sixth with one-out. Speedster Shane Victorino hit a ball in the hole between short and third. Cristian Guzman made a nice play on the grounder, but he had no chance to get "The Flyin Hawaiian." Redding gave up an RBI double to Ryan Howard and after a walk to Jason Werth, his day was finished. Overall, a pretty outstanding effort.
5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HB. 106 pitches, 63 strikes.
Nationals scoring, 4th inning
Willie Harris, Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman each delivered a clutch two-out hit, in the fourth, and the Nationals lead 6-0.
Harris tripled high off the wall in right, scoring Tim Redding, who reached on a fielders choice. Guzman followed with an RBI double to make it a 4-0 lead. Zimmerman then hit a bomb to dead center field for his 10th home run of the season and Washington has a 6-0 lead.
The Nationals had a chance to make it an even bigger inning, but a Redding's sac bunt forced Jesus Flores, who singled to lead-off the inning, out at third. A base running mistake by Emilio Bonifacio, who was on second, was picked off, but it will go down as a caught stealing.
Warning for both teams
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick and both dugouts, were just warned after Kendrick nearly hit Ryan Zimmerman with two straight pitches. The first pitch was low and inside, the second was high and tight. I don't think Kendrick, trailing 2-0 and Zimmerman leading off the inning, was trying to plunk the Nationals best player. Both pitches got away from him. End of conversation. Why home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman felt the need to warn both teams is beyond me. I don't see Washington doing anything stupid to retaliate.
Redding thru 3 innings
Redding hasn't allowed a hit and he retired seven in a row until he hit Shane Victorino with two-out in the third. It was the second batter he's hit today. He looks good, but the Phillies are making him throw a lot of pitches. Chris Coste had an 11 pitch at bat in the second.
3 IP, 0 H, BB, 2 K, 2 HB. 59 pitches, 37 strikes.
Nationals scoring, 1st inning
Lastings Milledge did what Ryan Howard and Jason Werth couldn't do for the Phillies; get a hit with runners in scoring position.
Milledge singled home Cristian Guzman, who reached base on a fielders choice, and Ryan Zimmerman, who walked and the Nationals have an early 2-0 lead on Phils starter Kyle Kendrick. After Milledge stole second, on a strike out of Ronnie Belliard, Kendrick hit Elijah Dukes. Jesus Flores looked to add another run, but he grounded out to second to end the inning.
Redding's 1st inning
Tim Redding got out of a first inning, one-out, jam by striking out Ryan Howard and getting Jason Werth to fly out to right with runners on second and third.
Redding walked Jimmy Rollins and two batters later, hit Chase Utley. When Redding's pick off attempt, of Rollins at second base, went into center field, both runners advanced into scoring position. The Phillies couldn't take advantage of the error and left two runners stranded.
Starting Line-ups
Phillies
SS Jimmy Rollins
CF Shane Victorino
2B Chase Utley
1B Ryan Howard
LF Jason Werth
3B Greg Dobbs
RF Matt Stairs
C Chris Coste
P Kyle Kendrick
Nationals
LF Willie Harris
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
CF Lastings Milledge
1B Ronnie Belliard
RF Elijah Dukes
C Jesus Flores
2B Emilio Bonifacio
P Tim Redding
Game Preview
Philadelphia (75-62) at Nationals (52-85)
Coming off their second straight series sweep, the Nationals welcome the Phillies to Nationals Park for a three-game set beginning with today's afternoon affair.
Washington, trailing 4-3 in the eighth on Sunday, got a huge three-run homer from Aaron Boone. The Nationals scored five runs in the inning and beat the Braves 8-4, for their sixth consecutive victory. It's the Nationals' longest winning streak since a 6-game run, July 31-August 5, 2007.
Philadelphia, winners of two straight, just wrapped up a four-game series, which they split with the NL Central leading Cubs. The Phillies are currently one game behind the Mets in the NL East, with 25 games to play.
The two teams have played 12 games against each other with the Phillies winning eight. Washington snapped a seven-game losing streak to Philadelphia with a 4-3 win on August 21 at Citizens Bank Park.
This is the final meeting between the two teams in DC this year. The Phillies have won five of six at Nationals Park.
Pitching Match-Up
RHP Tim Redding (9-8, 4.54) is coming off his second straight quality start. He beat the Dodgers 5-4 last Wednesday, by tossing six innings of three-run ball. All three runs came off solo homers.
Redding was outstanding in his outing against the Phillies on August 21st at Citizens Bank Park. He held the Phillies to one run on three hits in six innings, but settled for a no-decision in the Nationals' 4-3 win.
Redding retired 14 straight before giving up a two-out double and RBI single to Chase Utley in the sixth.
This is Redding's fifth start against the Phillies this season. He's 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA and 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 10 career outings vs. Philadelphia.
With a win this afternoon, Redding would match his career high in wins with 10. He won 10 games for Houston in 2003. With a victory, he'll become the Nationals' first double-digit winner since Ramon Ortiz won 11 in 2006.
RHP Kyle Kendrick (11-7, 4.83) has allowed three combined runs in his last two starts, but has only one win to show for his efforts. He gave up two runs on eight hits in five innings against the Dodgers last Wednesday, but the bullpen fell apart and cost Kendrick the win.
Kendrick faced the Nationals on July 31st at Nationals Park and picked up the win in the Phillies 8-4 victory. He gave up two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. Kendrick, who allowed a run to score on a wild pitch in the second and Jesus Flores' RBI single in the third, out-pitched John Lannan to earn his ninth win of the season.
Today's start is the fifth of Kendrick's career vs. Washington. He's 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA.
It's been a tale of two halves for Kendrick in his brief career. Prior to the All-Star break he is 11-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 24 starts. After the Mid-Summer Classic, Kendrick is 10-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 starts.
Pitching at home and when the sun goes down is when he's at his best. On the road and during the day is a different story. Kendrick is 12-4 with a 3.73 ERA at home and 9-7 with a 5.11 ERA on the road.
In day games, he's 3-3 with a 5.01 ERA and 18-8 with a 4.25 ERA at night. If these trends hold true, expect the Nationals to fare well against the 24-year old.
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