Ramos' clutch hit lifts Nationals to 2-1 win, sweep in Philly

PHILADELPHIA - Gio Gonzalez turned in one of his best starts of the season, Jayson Werth homered once again at Citizens Bank Park and Wilson Ramos delivered yet another clutch hit to lead the Nationals to a 2-1 victory tonight and a series sweep over the Phillies.

Ramos' two-out RBI single to right in the top of the seventh broke a 1-1 deadlock and gave the Nationals the lead for good, the latest big hit in a big spot from the All-Star catcher.

After falling behind in the count 0-2, Ramos battled left-hander Adam Morgan back to a full count before lining a single to right on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Anthony Rendon, who had doubled moments earlier to start the two-out rally, came around to score on Ramos' 71st RBI of the season.

That proved enough offense for the Nationals, who got their third straight dominant start this week to take their third straight game in Philadelphia.

Gonzalez did the heavy lifting, backing up Tanner Roark and Max Scherzer's starts with six innings of two-hit ball before handing the game over to his bullpen. Blake Treinen and Marc Rzepczynski combined to retire the side in the seventh and eighth. With closer Mark Melancon unavailable after pitching five of the last six days, Rzepczynski returned to the mound to start the ninth before Shawn Kelley took over to record the final out, picking up his seventh save.

The Nationals jumped out to an early lead in each of the series' first two games, so it was no surprise that they did it again in tonight's finale. Nor was it surprising who provided the big blow: Werth.

Werth crushed a pitch from Morgan to straightaway center field, over the vine-covered batter's eye and into the camera well, some 453 feet from the plate. That was the veteran left fielder's fourth homer in his last six games, his 20th of the season and yet another big blast in the ballpark he used to call home.

With the eminently hittable Morgan (owner of a 1-8 record and 6.50 ERA when the game began) on the mound, the Nationals had to like their chances of adding to Werth's production. But their bats went stone-cold silent after that, failing to produce even one more hit off Morgan through the sixth inning.

Fortunately, Gonzalez was on top of his game. The left-hander made only one mistake all night: a 3-2 pitch to Freddy Galvis in the bottom of the fifth that wound up in the left field bleachers. Otherwise, Gonzalez was untouchable, letting only three batters reach base during his six innings of work.

In the process, Gonzalez improved to 10-9 for the season and is 4-0 in his last six starts.