GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PHILADELPHIA (63-56) at WASHINGTON (55-65)

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - PITCHING CHANGE
WAS: JON RAUCH (8-3, 3.86) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2

DUE UP FOR PHILADELPH: T IGUCHI (.311, 2-FOR-4)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Rauch relieved S Rivera.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4
WASHINGTON 2 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR PHILADELPHIA: T Iguchi (.311, 2-FOR-4)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PHILADELPHIA 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 9 1
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 7 0 (BOT 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: PHI - J.C. ROMERO
WAS - JON RAUCH

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: N LOGAN (.276, 1-FOR-3)
J RAUCH (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
F LOPEZ (.249, 0-FOR-3, BB)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">PHILADELPHIA (4) VS WASHINGTON (2) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Rollins ss 4 1 1 0 1 2 2 .288
T Iguchi 2b 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .307
P Burrell lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .261
C Roberson rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
R Howard 1b 5 0 1 1 0 3 4 .263
A Rowand cf 5 0 0 0 0 3 4 .308
J Werth rf-lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 .252
C Ruiz c 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 .260
A Nunez 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 .248
C Hamels p 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .136
A Alfonseca p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-G Dobbs ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .286
T Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 35 4 9 4 5 12 18

a-doubled to deep right center for A Alfonseca in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Werth (4, S Rivera); G Dobbs (17, S Rivera). HR - C Ruiz (4,
2nd inning off J Hanrahan 1 on, 1 Out). S - C Ruiz. RBI - C Ruiz 2 (42), R
Howard (98), G Dobbs (42). 2-out RBI - G Dobbs. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Rowand 1, J Rollins 1, R Howard 1, C Hamels 1. Team LOB -
10.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Rollins (24, 3rd base off J Hanrahan/J Flores).

FIELDING: E - R Howard (8, ground ball). Outfield assists - C Roberson (A
Kearns at 2nd base). DP: 2 (J Rollins-T Iguchi-R Howard, C Roberson-J Rollins).



WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .249
R Belliard 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .282
R Zimmerman 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .264
D Young 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .332
A Kearns rf 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 .250
R Langerhans rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .157
R Church lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .265
J Flores c 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 .233
N Logan cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .276
J Hanrahan p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .429
a-D Jimenez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .170
C Schroder p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Bacsik p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .130
b-T Batista ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .275
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 30 2 7 2 4 7 15

a-struck out looking for J Hanrahan in the 5th; b-walked for M Bacsik in the
7th.

BATTING: 2B - R Belliard (23, C Hamels); A Kearns (25, C Hamels). HR - R
Belliard (7, 8th inning off T Gordon 0 on, 0 Out), D Young (11, 8th inning off
T Gordon 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Belliard (39), D Young (63). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - F Lopez 2, N Logan 1, D Young 1, R Zimmerman 1. GIDP
- J Flores. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Kearns (2, 2nd base off C Hamels/C Ruiz).


----------------------------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA - 020 000 110 -- 4
WASHINGTON - 000 000 02 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Hamels 6 2/3 4 0 0 2 6 0 3.50
A Alfonseca 1/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.80
T Gordon 1/3 2 2 2 1 0 2 4.74
J Romero 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.12

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Hanrahan 5 4 2 2 4 8 1 2.95
C Schroder 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 1.55
M Bacsik 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.73
S Rivera 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.77
J Rauch 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.80

Pitches-strikes: C Hamels 101-62; A Alfonseca 15-9; T Gordon 14-7; J Romero
8-4; J Hanrahan 101-51; C Schroder 30-19; M Bacsik 10-7; S Rivera 16-11; J
Rauch 12-8. Ground balls-fly balls: C Hamels 8-6; A Alfonseca 0-0; T Gordon
0-1; J Romero 0-1; J Hanrahan 2-5; C Schroder 0-4; M Bacsik 1-0; S Rivera 1-0;
J Rauch 0-2. Batters faced: C Hamels 26; A Alfonseca 2; T Gordon 4; J Romero 2;
J Hanrahan 23; C Schroder 7; M Bacsik 2; S Rivera 5; J Rauch 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Marvin Hudson. 1B--Chris Guccione. 2B--Adrian Johnson. 3B--Jerry
Layne.

Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to left.</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - PITCHING CHANGE
PHI: BRETT MYERS (2-4, 5.04) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: N LOGAN (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Myers relieved J Romero.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4
WASHINGTON 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: N Logan (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Fick hit for J Rauch.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PHILADELPHIA 4
WASHINGTON 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R Fick (.204, 0 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PHILADELPHIA 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 9 1
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PHI - COLE HAMELS, ANTONIO ALFONSECA (7TH), TOM GORDON (8TH), J.C.
ROMERO (8TH), BRETT MYERS (9TH) AND CARLOS RUIZ

WAS - JOEL HANRAHAN, CHRIS SCHRODER (6TH), MIKE BACSIK
(7TH), SAUL RIVERA (8TH), JON RAUCH (9TH) AND JESUS FLORES

HOME RUNS: PHI - CARLOS RUIZ (4) OFF JOEL HANRAHAN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON

WAS - RONNIE BELLIARD (7) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
DMITRI YOUNG (11) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON</div>

 

Hamels strong as Phillies hold off Nationals

<h3>PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cole Hamels notched his 14th win, but notbefore the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen weathered a latestorm.


Hamels tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Carlos Ruiz belted atwo-run homer as the Phillies held on for a 4-2 victory over theWashington Nationals on Thursday.


In winning for the fifth time in six decisions, Hamels (14-5)worked more than six innings for the eighth consecutive time.The All-Star lefthander limited Washington to just four hits andtwo walks while striking out six, throwing 62-of-101 pitchesfor strikes.


Ruiz gave Hamels some early support with a two-run homer in thesecond inning, belting a 1-0 offering from Joel Hanrahan overthe left-center field wall with Jayson Werth aboard.

The Phillies added a run in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins drew aleadoff walk and Tadahito Iguchi reached on a bunt single.Following a flyout by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard plated Rollinswith a grounder, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 bulge.


The RBI was the first of the series for Howard, who leads theNational League with 98.


Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs extended the advantage to four with anRBI double in the eighth, but the Nationals made a comebackattempt in the eighth against the Phillies' relief corps.

Ronnie Belliard belted his seventh homer of the season on thethird pitch of the inning from Tom Gordon, who started theframe. One out later, Dmitri Young deposited a 2-1 pitch overthe right field wall for his 11th blast, halving the deficit to4-2.


Austin Kearns drew a walk, prompting Philadelphia managerCharlie Manuel to turn to lefthander J.C. Romero, who yielded asingle by Ryan Church before Jesus Flores lined into a doubleplay to right field, ending the inning.


Brett Myers worked a perfect ninth to notch his 11th save.

The Nationals, who had a runner reach second base in each of thefirst four innings, mounted their first serious threat in theseventh.


Kearns led off with a double to left-center and, after Hamelsstruck out Church and Flores, Nook Logan reached on a buntsingle. Righthander Antonio Alfonseca came on and walked pinchhitter Tony Batista to load the bases before striking out FelipeLopez to escape unscathed.


Making his fourth career start, Hanrahan (2-1) allowed two runsand four hits in five innings. The 25-year-old righthanderwalked four but struck out a season-high eight.

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PHILADELPHIA 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 9 1
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PHI - COLE HAMELS, ANTONIO ALFONSECA (7TH), TOM GORDON (8TH), J.C.
ROMERO (8TH), BRETT MYERS (9TH) AND CARLOS RUIZ

WAS - JOEL HANRAHAN, CHRIS SCHRODER (6TH), MIKE BACSIK
(7TH), SAUL RIVERA (8TH), JON RAUCH (9TH) AND JESUS FLORES


WP - COLE HAMELS (14-5)
LP - JOEL HANRAHAN (2-1)
SAVE - BRETT MYERS (11)

HOME RUNS: PHI - CARLOS RUIZ (4) OFF JOEL HANRAHAN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON

WAS - RONNIE BELLIARD (7) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON
DMITRI YOUNG (11) OFF TOM GORDON IN THE 8TH, 0 ON


TIME: 3:03 ATT: 27,308

PROBABLES: NYM - TOM GLAVINE (10-6, 4.25)
WAS - MATT CHICO (5-6, 4.85)

PROBABLES: PHI - J.D. DURBIN (4-2, 5.73)
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY (11-6, 3.29)</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">PHILADELPHIA (4) VS WASHINGTON (2) - FINAL

PHILADELPHIA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Rollins ss 4 1 1 0 1 2 2 .288
T Iguchi 2b 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .307
P Burrell lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .261
C Roberson rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
R Howard 1b 5 0 1 1 0 3 4 .263
A Rowand cf 5 0 0 0 0 3 4 .308
J Werth rf-lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 .252
C Ruiz c 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 .260
A Nunez 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 .248
C Hamels p 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .136
A Alfonseca p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-G Dobbs ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .286
T Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Romero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 35 4 9 4 5 12 18

a-doubled to deep right center for A Alfonseca in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Werth (4, S Rivera); G Dobbs (17, S Rivera). HR - C Ruiz (4,
2nd inning off J Hanrahan 1 on, 1 Out). S - C Ruiz. RBI - C Ruiz 2 (42), R
Howard (98), G Dobbs (42). 2-out RBI - G Dobbs. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Rowand 1, J Rollins 1, R Howard 1, C Hamels 1. Team LOB -
10.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Rollins (24, 3rd base off J Hanrahan/J Flores).

FIELDING: E - R Howard (8, ground ball). Outfield assists - C Roberson (A
Kearns at 2nd base). DP: 2 (J Rollins-T Iguchi-R Howard, C Roberson-J Rollins).



WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .249
R Belliard 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .282
R Zimmerman 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .264
D Young 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .332
A Kearns rf 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 .250
R Langerhans rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .157
R Church lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .265
J Flores c 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 .233
N Logan cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .275
J Hanrahan p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .429
a-D Jimenez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .170
C Schroder p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Bacsik p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .130
b-T Batista ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .275
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-R Fick ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .203

Totals 33 2 7 2 4 8 15

a-struck out looking for J Hanrahan in the 5th; b-walked for M Bacsik in the
7th; c-lined out to center for J Rauch in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - R Belliard (23, C Hamels); A Kearns (25, C Hamels). HR - R
Belliard (7, 8th inning off T Gordon 0 on, 0 Out), D Young (11, 8th inning off
T Gordon 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - R Belliard (39), D Young (63). Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - F Lopez 2, N Logan 1, D Young 1, R Zimmerman 1. GIDP
- J Flores. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Kearns (2, 2nd base off C Hamels/C Ruiz).


----------------------------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA - 020 000 110 -- 4
WASHINGTON - 000 000 020 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

PHILADELPHIA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Hamels (W, 14-5) 6 2/3 4 0 0 2 6 0 3.50
A Alfonseca (H, 13) 1/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.80
T Gordon 1/3 2 2 2 1 0 2 4.74
J Romero (H, 9) 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.12
B Myers (S, 11) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.93

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Hanrahan (L, 2-1) 5 4 2 2 4 8 1 2.95
C Schroder 1 1/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 1.55
M Bacsik 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.73
S Rivera 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 3.77
J Rauch 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.80

Pitches-strikes: C Hamels 101-62; A Alfonseca 15-9; T Gordon 14-7; J Romero
8-4; B Myers 12-9; J Hanrahan 101-51; C Schroder 30-19; M Bacsik 10-7; S Rivera
16-11; J Rauch 12-8. Ground balls-fly balls: C Hamels 8-6; A Alfonseca 0-0; T
Gordon 0-1; J Romero 0-1; B Myers 1-1; J Hanrahan 2-5; C Schroder 0-4; M Bacsik
1-0; S Rivera 1-0; J Rauch 0-2. Batters faced: C Hamels 26; A Alfonseca 2; T
Gordon 4; J Romero 2; B Myers 3; J Hanrahan 23; C Schroder 7; M Bacsik 2; S
Rivera 5; J Rauch 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Marvin Hudson. 1B--Chris Guccione. 2B--Adrian Johnson. 3B--Jerry
Layne.

T--3:03. Att--27,308.
Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to
left.</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
PHILADELPHIA 4
WASHINGTON 2 FINAL</div>

 

Hamels strong as Phillies hold off Nationals

<h3>PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cole Hamels notched his 14th win, but notbefore the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen weathered a latestorm.


Hamels tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Carlos Ruiz belted atwo-run homer as the Phillies held on for a 4-2 victory over theWashington Nationals on Thursday.


With the victory, the Phillies (64-56) climbed within threegames of the first-place New York Mets (67-53) in the NationalLeague East Division. New York on Thursday dropped a 10-7decision to Pittsburgh.


Philadelphia also cut San Diego's lead in the NL wild card raceto one-half game. The Padres (64-55) are hosting the ColoradoRockies.


In winning for the fifth time in six decisions, Hamels (14-5)worked more than six innings for the eighth consecutive time.The All-Star lefthander limited Washington to just four hits andtwo walks while striking out six, throwing 62-of-101 pitchesfor strikes.


Ruiz gave Hamels some early support with a two-run homer in thesecond inning, belting a 1-0 offering from Joel Hanrahan overthe left-center field wall with Jayson Werth aboard.

The Phillies added a run in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins drew aleadoff walk and Tadahito Iguchi reached on a bunt single.Following a flyout by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard plated Rollinswith a grounder, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 bulge.


The RBI was the first of the series for Howard, who leads theNational League with 98.


Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs extended the advantage to four with anRBI double in the eighth, but the Nationals made a comebackattempt in the eighth against the Phillies' relief corps.

Ronnie Belliard belted his seventh homer of the season on thethird pitch of the inning from Tom Gordon, who started theframe. One out later, Dmitri Young deposited a 2-1 pitch overthe right field wall for his 11th blast, halving the deficit to4-2.


Austin Kearns drew a walk, prompting Philadelphia managerCharlie Manuel to turn to lefthander J.C. Romero, who yielded asingle by Ryan Church before Jesus Flores lined into a doubleplay to right field, ending the inning.


Brett Myers worked a perfect ninth to notch his 11th save.

The Nationals, who had a runner reach second base in each of thefirst four innings, mounted their first serious threat in theseventh.


Kearns led off with a double to left-center and, after Hamelsstruck out Church and Flores, Nook Logan reached on a buntsingle. Righthander Antonio Alfonseca came on and walked pinchhitter Tony Batista to load the bases before striking out FelipeLopez to escape unscathed.


Making his fourth career start, Hanrahan (2-1) allowed two runsand four hits in five innings. The 25-year-old righthanderwalked four but struck out a season-high eight.

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PHILADELPHIA (4) AT WASHINGTON (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PHILADELPHIA 2ND: A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth walked. C Ruiz
homered to left center, J Werth scored. A Nunez walked. C Hamels bunted into
fielder's choice to catcher, A Nunez out at second. J Rollins struck out
swinging. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 7TH: J Rollins walked. T Iguchi reached on bunt single to
pitcher, J Rollins to second. P Burrell flied out to center, J Rollins to
third. M Bacsik relieved C Schroder. R Howard grounded into fielder's choice
to second, J Rollins scored, T Iguchi out at second. A Rowand struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 3, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 8TH: S Rivera relieved M Bacsik. J Werth doubled to left.
C Ruiz sacrificed to third, J Werth to third. A Nunez struck out swinging.
G Dobbs hit for A Alfonseca. G Dobbs doubled to deep right center, J Werth
scored. J Rollins struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 8TH: T Gordon relieved A Alfonseca. R Belliard homered to left.
R Zimmerman flied out to center. D Young homered to right. A Kearns walked.
J Romero relieved T Gordon. R Church singled to right, A Kearns to second.
J Flores flied into double play, right to shortstop, A Kearns doubled off
second.(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2.</div>

 

NL: PHILADELPHIA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PHILADELPHIA (4) AT WASHINGTON (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philadelphia Starting Lineups -- J Rollins SS, T Iguchi 2B, P Burrell LF,
R Howard 1B, A Rowand CF, J Werth RF, C Ruiz C, A Nunez 3B, C Hamels LHP.

Washington Starting Lineups -- F Lopez SS, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, R Church LF, J Flores C, N Logan CF, J Hanrahan RHP.

Umpires -- Marvin Hudson (HP), Chris Guccione (1B), Adrian Johnson (2B),
Jerry Layne (3B).

Gametime Weather: 88 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to left at 8 mph.


PHILADELPHIA 1ST: J Rollins singled to center. T Iguchi grounded out to
shortstop, J Rollins to second. P Burrell struck out swinging, J Rollins stole
third. R Howard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 0,
WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 1ST: F Lopez lined out to first. R Belliard doubled to deep
left. R Zimmerman grounded out to pitcher. D Young grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 0, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 2ND: A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth walked. C Ruiz
homered to left center, J Werth scored. A Nunez walked. C Hamels bunted into
fielder's choice to catcher, A Nunez out at second. J Rollins struck out
swinging. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 2ND: A Kearns singled to deep right. R Church struck out
swinging. A Kearns stole second. J Flores struck out swinging. N Logan lined
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 3RD: T Iguchi flied out to center. P Burrell flied out to
left. R Howard struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2,
WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: J Hanrahan struck out looking. F Lopez walked. R Belliard
grounded out to second, F Lopez to second. R Zimmerman grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 4TH: A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth flied out to
right. C Ruiz walked. A Nunez walked, C Ruiz to second. C Hamels struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 4TH: D Young grounded out to second. A Kearns walked. R Church
safe at first on error by first baseman R Howard, A Kearns to second. J Flores
grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, R Church out at
second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 5TH: J Rollins popped out to second. T Iguchi singled to
left. P Burrell singled to right, T Iguchi to second. R Howard struck out
swinging. A Rowand popped out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: N Logan lined out to third. D Jimenez hit for J Hanrahan.
D Jimenez struck out looking. F Lopez lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 6TH: C Schroder relieved J Hanrahan. J Werth popped out to
second. C Ruiz singled to center. A Nunez flied out to left. C Hamels popped
out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 6TH: R Belliard fouled out to third. R Zimmerman grounded out
to second. D Young flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PHILADELPHIA 2, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 7TH: J Rollins walked. T Iguchi reached on bunt single to
pitcher, J Rollins to second. P Burrell flied out to center, J Rollins to
third. M Bacsik relieved C Schroder. R Howard grounded into fielder's choice
to second, J Rollins scored, T Iguchi out at second. A Rowand struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 3, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 7TH: C Roberson in right field. J Werth in left field. A Kearns
doubled to deep left. R Church struck out swinging. J Flores struck out
swinging. N Logan reached on bunt single to third, A Kearns to third.
T Batista hit for M Bacsik. A Alfonseca relieved C Hamels. T Batista walked,
N Logan to second. F Lopez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
PHILADELPHIA 3, WASHINGTON 0.

PHILADELPHIA 8TH: S Rivera relieved M Bacsik. J Werth doubled to left.
C Ruiz sacrificed to third, J Werth to third. A Nunez struck out swinging.
G Dobbs hit for A Alfonseca. G Dobbs doubled to deep right center, J Werth
scored. J Rollins struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 8TH: T Gordon relieved A Alfonseca. R Belliard homered to left.
R Zimmerman flied out to center. D Young homered to right. A Kearns walked.
J Romero relieved T Gordon. R Church singled to right, A Kearns to second.
J Flores flied into double play, right to shortstop, A Kearns doubled off
second.(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2.

PHILADELPHIA 9TH: R Langerhans in right field. J Rauch relieved S Rivera.
T Iguchi struck out swinging. C Roberson flied out to left. R Howard singled to
right. A Rowand flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4,
WASHINGTON 2.

WASHINGTON 9TH: B Myers relieved J Romero. N Logan struck out looking.
R Fick hit for J Rauch. R Fick lined out to center. F Lopez grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2.</div>

 

Hamels strong as Phillies hold off Nationals

<h3>PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cole Hamels notched his 14th win, but notbefore the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen weathered a latestorm.


Hamels tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Carlos Ruiz belted atwo-run homer as the Phillies held on for a 4-2 victory over theWashington Nationals on Thursday.


With the victory, the Phillies (64-56) climbed within threegames of the first-place New York Mets (67-53) in the NationalLeague East Division. New York on Thursday dropped a 10-7decision to Pittsburgh.


Philadelphia also cut San Diego's lead in the NL wild card raceto one-half game. The Padres (64-55) are hosting the ColoradoRockies.


In winning for the fifth time in six decisions, Hamels (14-5)worked more than six innings for the eighth consecutive time.The All-Star lefthander limited Washington to just four hits andtwo walks while striking out six, throwing 62-of-101 pitchesfor strikes in humid conditions.


Ruiz gave Hamels some early support with a two-run homer in thesecond inning, belting a 1-0 offering from Joel Hanrahan overthe left-center field wall with Jayson Werth aboard.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I hit the ballgood," Ruiz said. "I hope to finish this month very good and tohelp my team in September."


The Phillies added a run in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins drew aleadoff walk and Tadahito Iguchi reached on a bunt single.Following a flyout by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard plated Rollinswith a grounder, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 bulge.


The RBI was the first of the series for Howard, who leads theNational League with 98. After driving in at least one run infive of Philadelphia's first six games this month, the reigningNL MVP has recorded an RBI in just three of the last eightcontests.


"I'd like to see him stay on the ball better," Phillies managerCharlie Manuel said. "He can hit those breaking balls andchangeups. He hit those last year. Right now, he's stridingout there too soon and he's going quick. ... He's trying to goget it and he's getting out over his front side and he's notseeing the ball real good. He's definitely trying too hard."

Howard had a different take on his recent lack of production.

"I'm done talking about that," he said. "It's just not hittingthe ball. You get pitches to hit and foul them off. You can'tfoul the pitches off that you do get to hit. Sometimes you'regoing to chase bad pitches, that's anybody, but when I'm gettingpitches to hit, I'm fouling them off. That's the thing for methat I don't want to do.


"It happens. You get hot, you get cold. Right now, I just wantto go out there and keep playing."


Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs extended the advantage to four with anRBI double in the eighth, but the Nationals made a comebackattempt in the eighth against the Phillies' relief corps.

Ronnie Belliard belted his seventh homer of the season on thethird pitch of the inning from Tom Gordon, who started theframe. One out later, Dmitri Young deposited a 2-1 pitch overthe right field wall for his 11th blast, halving the deficit to4-2.


Austin Kearns drew a walk, prompting Manuel to turn tolefthander J.C. Romero, who yielded a single by Ryan Churchbefore Jesus Flores lined into a double play to right field,ending the inning.


"I'm just happy the way the guys kept battling," Washingtonmanager Manny Acta said.


Brett Myers worked a perfect ninth to notch his 11th save.

The Nationals, who had a runner reach second base in each of thefirst four innings, mounted their first serious threat in theseventh.


Kearns led off with a double to left-center and, after Hamelsstruck out Church and Flores, Nook Logan reached on a buntsingle.


"I didn't foresee Logan bunting, or anybody bunting with twoouts, but that's the name of his game," Hamels said.

Righthander Antonio Alfonseca came on and walked pinch hitterTony Batista to load the bases before striking out Felipe Lopezto escape unscathed.


"It didn't bother me one bit just because I know that we do havea bullpen that's been doing well," Hamels said of beingreplaced. "So if I can hand it over to them, that's noproblem."


The 23-year-old Hamels admitted he was tiring in the seventh.

"That's probably the first time where I was just lackingenergy," he said. "I was definitely exhausted. I gave iteverything I had at that moment and I knew with Batista comingup - he's definitely a good clutch hitter - I didn't think I hadthe stuff to actually get him out at that time of the day."

Neither did Manuel.


"I wanted to put a righthanded pitcher on Batista because he'sdangerous," Manuel said. "Plus, Alfonseca's faced him quite abit, so I liked Alfonseca over Cole. If (Logan) hadn't got thathit there, I'd have probably let Cole keep going."

Manuel did not seem to sense Hamels' state of exhaustion.

"He didn't say nothing, but when I looked in his eye, I couldtell he wanted to stay," Manuel said. "Him and I have ourmoments. So far, I've won 'em. But that's OK, that's fine. Ilike it that way, really, and he pitched very good."

Making his fourth career start, Hanrahan (2-1) allowed two runsand four hits in five innings. The 25-year-old righthanderwalked four but struck out a season-high eight.


"That's three games in a row where I've only gone five innings,and with the way our bullpen's been getting used, that's notwhat you're looking for," Hanrahan said. "I know that's notwhat Manny's looking for. I've got to get quicker outs and stopwalking people."


"For the most part, he gave us a chance and kept us in thegame," Acta said. "But I need a little bit more out of himinnings-wise. I wish that he would've used all of his pitchesmore effectively, but he still gave us a chance."

 

Hamels strong as Phillies hold off Nationals

<h3>PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cole Hamels notched his 14th win, but notbefore the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen weathered a latestorm.


Hamels tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Carlos Ruiz belted atwo-run homer as the Phillies held on for a 4-2 victory over theWashington Nationals on Thursday.


With the victory, the Phillies (64-56) climbed within threegames of the first-place New York Mets (67-53) in the NationalLeague East Division. New York on Thursday dropped a 10-7decision to Pittsburgh.


Philadelphia also cut San Diego's lead in the NL wild card raceto one-half game. The Padres (64-55) are hosting the ColoradoRockies.


In winning for the fifth time in six decisions, Hamels (14-5)worked more than six innings for the eighth consecutive time.The All-Star lefthander limited Washington to just four hits andtwo walks while striking out six, throwing 62-of-101 pitchesfor strikes in humid conditions.


Ruiz gave Hamels some early support with a two-run homer in thesecond inning, belting a 1-0 offering from Joel Hanrahan overthe left-center field wall with Jayson Werth aboard.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I hit the ballgood," said Ruiz, who hadn't homered since May 15 - a span of176 at-bats. "I hope to finish this month very good and to helpmy team in September."


The Phillies added a run in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins drew aleadoff walk and Tadahito Iguchi reached on a bunt single.Following a flyout by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard plated Rollinswith a grounder, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 bulge.


The RBI was the first of the series for Howard, who leads theNational League with 98. After driving in at least one run infive of Philadelphia's first six games this month, the reigningNL MVP has recorded an RBI in just three of the last eightcontests.


"I'd like to see him stay on the ball better," Phillies managerCharlie Manuel said. "He can hit those breaking balls andchangeups. He hit those last year. Right now, he's stridingout there too soon and he's going quick. ... He's trying to goget it and he's getting out over his front side and he's notseeing the ball real good. He's definitely trying too hard."

Howard had a different take on his recent lack of production.

"I'm done talking about that," he said. "It's just not hittingthe ball. You get pitches to hit and foul them off. You can'tfoul the pitches off that you do get to hit. Sometimes you'regoing to chase bad pitches, that's anybody, but when I'm gettingpitches to hit, I'm fouling them off. That's the thing for methat I don't want to do.


"It happens. You get hot, you get cold. Right now, I just wantto go out there and keep playing."


Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs extended the advantage to four with anRBI double in the eighth, but the Nationals made a comebackattempt in the eighth against the Phillies' relief corps.

Ronnie Belliard belted his seventh homer of the season on thethird pitch of the inning from Tom Gordon, who started theframe. One out later, Dmitri Young deposited a 2-1 pitch overthe right field wall for his 11th blast, halving the deficit to4-2.


The power display marked the first time the Nationals homeredtwice in an inning at home since Ryan Zimmerman and AustinKearns accomplished the feat September 2 against the ArizonaDiamondbacks.


Kearns drew a walk, prompting Manuel to turn to lefthander J.C.Romero, who yielded a single by Ryan Church before Jesus Floreslined into a double play to right field, ending the inning.

"I'm just happy the way the guys kept battling," Washingtonmanager Manny Acta said.


Brett Myers worked a perfect ninth to notch his 11th save.

The Nationals, who had a runner reach second base in each of thefirst four innings, mounted their first serious threat in theseventh.


Kearns led off with a double to left-center and, after Hamelsstruck out Church and Flores, Nook Logan reached on a buntsingle.


"I didn't foresee Logan bunting, or anybody bunting with twoouts, but that's the name of his game," Hamels said.

Righthander Antonio Alfonseca came on and walked pinch hitterTony Batista to load the bases before striking out Felipe Lopezto escape unscathed.


"It didn't bother me one bit just because I know that we do havea bullpen that's been doing well," Hamels said of beingreplaced. "So if I can hand it over to them, that's noproblem."


The 23-year-old Hamels admitted he was tiring in the seventh.

"That's probably the first time where I was just lackingenergy," he said. "I was definitely exhausted. I gave iteverything I had at that moment and I knew with Batista comingup - he's definitely a good clutch hitter - I didn't think I hadthe stuff to actually get him out at that time of the day."

Neither did Manuel.


"I wanted to put a righthanded pitcher on Batista because he'sdangerous," Manuel said. "Plus, Alfonseca's faced him quite abit, so I liked Alfonseca over Cole. If (Logan) hadn't got thathit there, I'd have probably let Cole keep going."

Manuel did not seem to sense Hamels' state of exhaustion.

"He didn't say nothing, but when I looked in his eye, I couldtell he wanted to stay," Manuel said. "Him and I have ourmoments. So far, I've won 'em. But that's OK, that's fine. Ilike it that way, really, and he pitched very good."

Making his fourth career start, Hanrahan (2-1) allowed two runsand four hits in five innings. The 25-year-old righthanderwalked four but struck out a season-high eight.


"That's three games in a row where I've only gone five innings,and with the way our bullpen's been getting used, that's notwhat you're looking for," Hanrahan said. "I know that's notwhat Manny's looking for. I've got to get quicker outs and stopwalking people."


"For the most part, he gave us a chance and kept us in thegame," Acta said. "But I need a little bit more out of himinnings-wise. I wish that he would've used all of his pitchesmore effectively, but he still gave us a chance."

 

Hamels strong as Phillies hold off Nationals

<h3>PHILADELPHIA 4, WASHINGTON 2</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cole Hamels notched his 14th win, but notbefore the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen weathered a latestorm.


Hamels tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Carlos Ruiz belted atwo-run homer as the Phillies held on for a 4-2 victory over theWashington Nationals on Thursday.


With the victory, the Phillies (64-56) climbed within threegames of the first-place New York Mets (67-53) in the NationalLeague East Division. New York on Thursday dropped a 10-7decision to Pittsburgh.


Philadelphia remained one game behind San Diego in the NL wildcard race. The Padres (65-55) posted an 11-9 victory over theColorado Rockies.


In winning for the fifth time in six decisions, Hamels (14-5)worked more than six innings for the eighth consecutive time.The All-Star lefthander limited Washington to just four hits andtwo walks while striking out six, throwing 62-of-101 pitchesfor strikes in humid conditions.


Ruiz gave Hamels some early support with a two-run homer in thesecond inning, belting a 1-0 offering from Joel Hanrahan overthe left-center field wall with Jayson Werth aboard.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I hit the ballgood," said Ruiz, who hadn't homered since May 15 - a span of176 at-bats. "I hope to finish this month very good and to helpmy team in September."


The Phillies added a run in the seventh as Jimmy Rollins drew aleadoff walk and Tadahito Iguchi reached on a bunt single.Following a flyout by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard plated Rollinswith a grounder, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 bulge.


The RBI was the first of the series for Howard, who leads theNational League with 98. After driving in at least one run infive of Philadelphia's first six games this month, the reigningNL MVP has recorded an RBI in just three of the last eightcontests.


"I'd like to see him stay on the ball better," Phillies managerCharlie Manuel said. "He can hit those breaking balls andchangeups. He hit those last year. Right now, he's stridingout there too soon and he's going quick. ... He's trying to goget it and he's getting out over his front side and he's notseeing the ball real good. He's definitely trying too hard."

Howard had a different take on his recent lack of production.

"I'm done talking about that," he said. "It's just not hittingthe ball. You get pitches to hit and foul them off. You can'tfoul the pitches off that you do get to hit. Sometimes you'regoing to chase bad pitches, that's anybody, but when I'm gettingpitches to hit, I'm fouling them off. That's the thing for methat I don't want to do.


"It happens. You get hot, you get cold. Right now, I just wantto go out there and keep playing."


Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs extended the advantage to four with anRBI double in the eighth, but the Nationals made a comebackattempt in the eighth against the Phillies' relief corps.

Ronnie Belliard belted his seventh homer of the season on thethird pitch of the inning from Tom Gordon, who started theframe. One out later, Dmitri Young deposited a 2-1 pitch overthe right field wall for his 11th blast, halving the deficit to4-2.


The power display marked the first time the Nationals homeredtwice in an inning at home since Ryan Zimmerman and AustinKearns accomplished the feat September 2 against the ArizonaDiamondbacks.


Kearns drew a walk, prompting Manuel to turn to lefthander J.C.Romero, who yielded a single by Ryan Church before Jesus Floreslined into a double play to right field, ending the inning.

"I'm just happy the way the guys kept battling," Washingtonmanager Manny Acta said.


Brett Myers worked a perfect ninth to notch his 11th save.

The Nationals, who had a runner reach second base in each of thefirst four innings, mounted their first serious threat in theseventh.


Kearns led off with a double to left-center and, after Hamelsstruck out Church and Flores, Nook Logan reached on a buntsingle.


"I didn't foresee Logan bunting, or anybody bunting with twoouts, but that's the name of his game," Hamels said.

Righthander Antonio Alfonseca came on and walked pinch hitterTony Batista to load the bases before striking out Felipe Lopezto escape unscathed.


"It didn't bother me one bit just because I know that we do havea bullpen that's been doing well," Hamels said of beingreplaced. "So if I can hand it over to them, that's noproblem."


The 23-year-old Hamels admitted he was tiring in the seventh.

"That's probably the first time where I was just lackingenergy," he said. "I was definitely exhausted. I gave iteverything I had at that moment and I knew with Batista comingup - he's definitely a good clutch hitter - I didn't think I hadthe stuff to actually get him out at that time of the day."

Neither did Manuel.


"I wanted to put a righthanded pitcher on Batista because he'sdangerous," Manuel said. "Plus, Alfonseca's faced him quite abit, so I liked Alfonseca over Cole. If (Logan) hadn't got thathit there, I'd have probably let Cole keep going."

Manuel did not seem to sense Hamels' state of exhaustion.

"He didn't say nothing, but when I looked in his eye, I couldtell he wanted to stay," Manuel said. "Him and I have ourmoments. So far, I've won 'em. But that's OK, that's fine. Ilike it that way, really, and he pitched very good."

Making his fourth career start, Hanrahan (2-1) allowed two runsand four hits in five innings. The 25-year-old righthanderwalked four but struck out a season-high eight.


"That's three games in a row where I've only gone five innings,and with the way our bullpen's been getting used, that's notwhat you're looking for," Hanrahan said. "I know that's notwhat Manny's looking for. I've got to get quicker outs and stopwalking people."


"For the most part, he gave us a chance and kept us in thegame," Acta said. "But I need a little bit more out of himinnings-wise. I wish that he would've used all of his pitchesmore effectively, but he still gave us a chance."