Nationals 5, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA - Gio Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings and Washington hit back-to-back homers in back-to-back frames off Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee on Wednesday night, propelling the Nationals to a 5-1 victory over the Phillies.
Gonzalez (7-3), who won his fourth straight, allowed six hits and one run, that coming on a homer by Darin Ruf in the seventh. He struck out five and walked two while throwing 117 pitches, 74 for strikes.
Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano each pitched a scoreless inning for the Nats, who had lost the first two games of a four-game series.
Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos hit consecutive homers in the fifth, and Ryan Zimmerman and ex-Phillie Jayson Werth did so in the sixth for Washington. Rendon and Zimmerman hit theirs on 0-2 fastballs from Lee (10-3), who saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end.
Ramos hit a 1-0 fastball, while Werth blasted the first pitch he saw, an 87 mph cutter.
It equaled the most homers Lee ever allowed in a game. He also surrendered four against Milwaukee on July 24, 2012, and four against Baltimore on Aug. 21, 2010, the latter while pitching for the Texas Rangers.
The Nats added an unearned run in the ninth.
The Phillies put two runners on with no one out in the third and fifth against Gonzalez, but could not score. Carlos Ruiz and pinch hitter Kevin Frandsen also followed Ruf's homer with singles, but Gonzalez ended his night's work by retiring Ben Revere on a fly to left.
Rendon and Ramos, the Nos. 7 and 8 hitters in the Washington order, hit consecutive homers off Lee in the fifth to break a scoreless deadlock. It was each player's fourth of the season.
NOTES: Wednesday marked the fifth time this season the Nationals have hit back-to-back homers. ... Phillies 1B Ryan Howard underwent surgery on the medial meniscus in his left knee Wednesday. As previously announced, he will miss six to eight weeks. ... Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was asked once again about before the game about the prospect of the team being sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. "When the season starts, I've probably never been a seller," he said. "I look at it, until we're eliminated, we've got a chance." ... Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro told reporters that unless the team goes on a long winning or losing streak, it probably would be a last-minute decision as to whether the team looks to trade off or acquire players. He also said that at present he is more inclined to seek bullpen help.
