Phillies Smashed by First-Place Nationals
By Matt Veasey
90. Final. 1. 6. 9
The Philadelphia Phillies were spanked early in the opener of a weekend series with the Washington Nationals.
One week ago, the Phillies were stomped on by the defending National League champion New York Mets by a 7-2 score in the opener of a weekend series in the Big Apple. It was a fourth straight loss to start the 2016 season for the Phillies at that point.
No one in baseball, likely including the Phils’ players themselves, would have been able to see then that just one week later, the club would be in 2nd place at the .500 mark as they opened a series against the first-place Washington Nationals.
But that’s where we were as tonight’s Jackie Robinson Day celebration got underway at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly. All of the uniformed field personnel on both teams wore the #42 as a tribute to the man who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier on this date in 1947.
The number has been officially retired all across MLB since the 1997 season, with Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees as the last player to wear it when he retired after the 2013 season.
The last Phillies player to wear the #42 was reliever Toby Borland from 1994-96. It is not likely that Borland would have fared much better than the current Phillies pitchers did once this game got underway.
Starting pitching has been the linchpin to the Phils’ success over the last week, and has been the only consistently reliable part in the Phillies machine thus far in the 2016 season. But tonight’s starter Jeremy Hellickson, coming off two nice outings, would not continue the trend.
The Nationals batted around in the 1st inning against Hellickson, scoring five times on six hits. Three of those hits were for extra bases: a leadoff homer on the second pitch of the game by Michael Taylor, a two-run double by ex-Phils’ hero Jayson Werth, and a two-out double by Nats’ starting pitcher Joe Ross.
That first inning relentless onslaught sucked all the life out of the Phillies and most of the crowd of 22,624 for the rest of the night. The club had reached the five-run mark just twice in the first 10 games, and the offense was averaging a paltry 2.9 runs-per-game.
More from That Balls Outta Here
- Phillies rumors: Club targets Seth Lugo for possible bullpen role
- Pirates’ bizarre Vince Velasquez hype video will make Phillies fans laugh
- Acquiring Brandon Marsh gave the Phillies flexibility
- Former Phillies starter Zach Eflin shares heartwarming goodbye message
- Is Rhys Hoskins the future at first base for the Phillies beyond 2023?
There would be no comeback, as the Nationals cruised to a 9-1 victory. Reigning National League Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper led the Washington attack in a 3-4 performance that was highlighted by his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast in the 6th inning off lefty reliever Brett Oberholtzer.
Five different Nats’ produced a multi-hit game. Their offensive outburst was in stark contrast to the Phillies’ own continuing offensive frustrations. Ross allowed just three hits over 7.2 innings, striking out five while walking two batters.
The lone positive on this night was supplied by The Big Piece, but then not until the bottom of the 9th inning with the outcome long determined. Ryan Howard pulled his own fourth home run of the season out on a line over the right field fence, providing the Phillies’ lone run of the game.
It was the 361st home run in the career of the 2nd greatest home run hitter in Phillies franchise history. That ties him with the legendary Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio for 81st place on the all-time MLB home run list.
In last weekend’s series in New York, the Phillies bounced back from their Friday night beating to win the following two games and take the series. They will have to repeat that effort if they want to win this one. But against a now 8-1 opposing ball club, it does not seem as likely.