Game Recap:
The Phillies knocked Jason Marquis out of the game in the first inning, and Roy Oswalt pitched six strong innings to get his 7th win as a member of the Phillies as the Phils took the first game of their series against Washington.
What went right?
Shane Victorino was 1-3 with two walks and an RBI.
Placido Polanco went 1-5 and scored a run.
Jayson Werth went 2-4 with a solo home run and two RBI.
Raul Ibanez was 2-4, scored twice and drove in two.
Carlos Ruiz was 1-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.
Wilson freaking Valdez went 1-4 with an RBI.
Roy Oswalt got the win, his 7th as a Phillie. He allowed one run on six hits in six innings of work. He walked a batter, struck out seven and drove in his first run of the season with a single in the first inning.
J.C. Romero struck out two in the ninth inning to help finish off the game.
What went wrong?
Nothing to see here, at least not from last night.
Oh, the Mets lost to the Braves, but that was to be expected.
Game Analysis:
Coming into this series, the Phillies knew that they had to watch out for the Washington Nationals. After all, the Nationals are a team that just took two out of three from Atlanta at Turner Field, making them just the second team this season to win a series down there. Things started out well for Washington last night, too. The Nats scored a first inning run off of Roy Oswalt, and Jason Marquis got Shane Victorino to pop up to start the bottom of the first. After that, it was all downhill for the Nationals. The Phillies sent 11 men to the plate in the first inning and never looked back on their way to a 9-1 win that put their magic number down to 12 games for the National League East.
After the first inning, Oswalt was his usual dominant self on the mound. He settled down and made the pitches that he needed to in the right situations. The Nationals didn't make it easy on him, but he did enough to get through six innings and just allow that one run. It wasn't his best performance of the year, but it was another win for a man that's made most Philadelphia fans forget about Cliff Lee even more. Think about how far the Phillies have come with their pitching staff in just one season. At this point last year, the Phillies had Cliff Lee and not one other pitcher that you really felt comfortable about throwing out there every night. There was Cole Hamels, in the midst of his worst season ever, Pedro Martinez, Jamie Moyer, J.A. Happ or Joe Blanton. Seriously, that was the starting rotation in the second half last season. Now, the Phils have Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels in the midst of a great bounce-back season, Roy Oswalt...and Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton. Either way, it still looks better than it did last year, and Oswalt's showing last night proved once again that trading for him was a move that the Phillies had to make.
The bats once again came to life last night with a typical big inning for the Phillies. This time, it was in the first inning, and it knocked Jason Marquis out of the game after just one out had been recorded. Marquis got Shane Victorino out, but then allowed the next seven batters to reach base. Six runs crossed the plate in an 11 man first inning for the Phillies. Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz would finish the damage with home runs later in the game, but they were just formalities. The Phillies came to play last night, and it showed in the way that they swung the bats in the first inning.
Usually, Jason Marquis does pitch well against the Phils. Sinkerball pitchers can get away with a little more against this team, because the Phillies do swing at a lot of low pitches. Last night, Marquis was leaving his pitches up, and the Phils took advantage early and often. It was the kind of thing that rarely happens to a decent pitcher like Marquis, and something that the Phils needed to work on in order to take last night's game. The Nationals want to play spoiler this year, they really do. They always play the Phillies tough, and nothings going to change about that. At least last night the Phils got a leg up on everything with a series opening win. Now all they have to do is win the next two games and see if the Braves can drop one of two to the Mets. At this point, all the Phillies have to do is keep winning.
Tonight, Kyle Kendrick (9-9, 4.85 ERA) tries once again to not suck as he faces Jordan Zimmerman (0-1, 5.29 ERA).
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