Gonzalez, home runs drive Nationals past Phillies
The Washington Nationals wanted to make a statement in this weekend's series with the Philadelphia Phillies. So far, so good.
Jayson Werth, Chad Tracy and Ian Desmond each hit home runs, and Gio Gonzalez threw seven solid innings as the Washington Nationals scored a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday afternoon.
Washington (18-9) now has won four straight games and taken the first two of this three-game weekend series. The series finale is Sunday night at 8:05 ET in a nationally televised matchup.
The Nationals certainly have found their way against the Phillies (13-15) in recent games. They've won 11 of their last 13 against Philadelphia and remain on top of the National League East. The Phillies are tied for fourth place, 5 1/2 games back.
"I think all we're doing right now is reaffirming we can play with them," Washington manager Davey Johnson said. "That's a good message to send."
The message is getting out loud and clear -- especially thanks how Washington is doing on offense.
The Nationals have been struggling at the plate all season despite their strong start. But Washington's offense slowly seems to be awakening in this series. The Nationals came up with a number of scoring chances and 14 hits in Friday's 4-3 win, and they did more of the same Saturday, finishing with 15 hits.
"Davey's been saving the bats have been slow to wake up," said third baseman Steve Lombardozzi. "But they'll be (back)."
They've returned in this series, with help from guys like Lombardozzi and Rick Ankiel. Lombardozzi went 3-for 4 in this game and 3-for-6 in Friday's extra-inning win. Ankiel is 3-for-4 in each of the first two games, raising his average over 70 points in less than 24 hours.
But the big hitting delighted the big crowds they've drawn for each of the first two games. The Philadelphia fans often have taken over Nationals Park the last few years and Washington pushed hard to get local fans to the park -- a move that worked because it produced loud cheers the players liked and noticed from the 39,496 in attendance.
And many seemed to be rooting for the home team.
"We appreciated their support and are glad they got to see a good ballgame today," Desmond said. "That was a fun game."
Werth certainly had a good time. He burned his old team with a three-run shot off of Vance Worley (2-2) that gave Washington the lead for good in the fifth inning. Desmond hit a solo homer against Worley in the sixth, and Tracy pitched in with his two-run blast against Joe Savery in the seventh inning.
All of that was more than enough for Gonzalez, the left-hander who shut down the Phillies (13-15) with little trouble.
He gave up one run on just four hits in seven innings. Gonzalez struck out seven and walked one, needing 107 pitches to get through the seventh.
Gonzalez improved to 3-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.72. He's been one of Washington's top starting pitchers this season, almost as effective as right-hander Stephen Strasburg.
In fact, Gonzalez also helped his cause at the plate. The Phillies had taken a 1-0 lead on a Carlos Ruiz sacrifice fly in the fourth inning before Washington rallied in the fifth.
Gonzalez led off the fifth against Worley and battled the right-hander through a nine-pitch at-bat before lining a double to the wall in right-center. The Washington pitcher fouled off three pitches and ran the count full before getting a double that seemed to fire up the Nationals.
"I'm not a hitter; I was just trying to put it in play," Gonzalez said. "I was just trying to make contact."
Lombardozzi then reached on a one-out walk, and Werth later came to bat with two outs. He lined a 1-0 pitch into the left-field bullpen for his three-run homer that gave the Nationals the lead for good at 3-1.
Ankiel added an RBI double later in the inning to give Washington a 4-1 lead. Desmond hit his solo shot in the sixth to make it 5-1.
Tracy hit his two-run homer in the following inning for the 7-1 final.
Ryan Mattheus came on for Gonzalez to finish the final two innings.
NOTES: Gonzalez's double that started the fifth inning was the first of his major league career. ... Ankiel got three hits for the second straight game and now has six in the series. ... Lombardozzi also got three hits for a second consecutive game. ... Hunter Pence led the Phillies with two hits; Philadelphia finished with only five hits overall.
