Wilson Ramos delivers in the 11th inning, sinks Phillies
On a night off from catching duties, Wilson Ramos delivered a 2 out, bases loaded single in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Washington Nationals to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. It all developed form what appeared to be a quick 11th inning for the Phillies. Reliever Mike Schwimer got Tyler Moore and Ian Desmond out for two outs. Then the problems started for the Phillies reliever. After giving up a two out single to Steve Lombardozzi, Schwimer proceeded to walk Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, both outstanding plate appearances. That provided the opportunity for Ramos to come off the bench and deliver a game winning single.
Offensively, the Nationals got a home run from Chad Tracy, his first of the season, and a sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Jesus Flores to account for the Nats offensive production, before the Ramos game winning single. Lombardozzi finished the night with a three hit night, going 3 for 6 at the plate. The rookie raised his batting average to .300. Rick Ankiel added three hits, going 3 for 4 and Danny Espinosa and Tracy each added two hits apiece.
Tonight was Stephen Starsburg night at Nationals Park. Strasburg pitched pretty well, but allotted the Phillies two home runs. In total, Strasburg tossed 6 innings, allowed 3 hits and 3 runs while fanning 4. The story tonight was the shut down of the Nationals bullpen. Tom Gorzelanny, Craig Stammen, Henry Rodriguez, Tyler Clippard, and recent call up Ryan Perry pitched 5 shutout innings. The bullpen pitched a combined 5 shutout innings and fanned 6 Phillies' batters. Perry eanred his first win of the season.
Nationals improve to 17-9, while the Phillies fall to 13-14. Nationals have a 2 games lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
