Phillies Simply Looked Overmatched

GAME RECAP: Nationals Shutout Phillies 8-0

Tanner Roark kept the Phillies off the board on Saturday, and the Nationals' offense did the rest, as Washington routed Philadelphia, 8-0, at Nationals Park. Roark was the game's star, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven. The Phillies threatened in the second and third, but after that Roark cruised to his best outing since April. Meanwhile, Washington's lineup went to town against Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola. The Nationals scored four runs in the second inning off Nola on a smattering of singles. Roark's squeeze bunt scored a run and he later came around on Bryce Harper's single for a 4-0 lead. "The play of the game is when [Roark] got that two-strike bunt down that kind of opened the gates," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "I think guys were more excited about that than anything." Washington chased Nola from the game with two outs in the fourth inning. "Nola just didn't look in sync," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "There was something about his rhythm that just didn't look right. He didn't make that many bad pitches, but he didn't look like he was in sync." Washington added three more runs in the fifth off relievers Elvis Araujo and Andrew Bailey and another one in the eighth off Hector Neris. Clint Robinson and Michael Taylor had three hits apiece for the Nationals, and Anthony Rendon and Stephen Drew both drove in two runs. Overall, six different Washington players drove in runs. With Sammy Solis pitching for the Nationals in the eighth inning, Daniel Murphy let a runner reach base on a defensive miscue and cost the team a potential double play one batter later with a bobble on a routine roller. But the second baseman redeemed himself soon after, when he made a diving stop of a hard-hit grounder and threw out Cody Asche to end the inning. Blake Treinen finished the game for Washington with a 1-2-3 ninth.

PHILS PHACTS:

• All of the damage against Nola came during the second inning, when the Nationals strung together four hits and ended up with four runs. Nola hit Ramos with a pitch to begin the inning, then gave up a single to Robinson and, after a Rendon fielder's choice, another single to Drew. Roark drove in a run with a squeeze bunt, and Taylor and Bryce Harper added RBI singles to cap off the rally. Nola finally escaped the inning but was pulled with two outs in the fourth, having allowed seven hits and four runs. "I felt pretty wild with all my pitches," Nola said. "My curveball was hanging a lot. They put some good swings on those, especially when I had two strikes. It was too much in the zone. And my fastball, my two-seamer was running too much. I couldn't really control it much. And just getting behind guys really hurt me today." 
• The Phillies' best run-scoring opportunity came in the second inning, when Asche singled and Cameron Rupp doubled to lead off the inning. But Roark buckled down and fanned Cesar Hernandez, Nola and Peter Bourjos consecutively, holding Philadelphia off the board. The Phillies never got a better chance the rest of the way. "That second inning kind of set the tone for us," Mackanin said. "Second and third nobody out, and he struck out the side. We just didn't hit."
• "You've been seeing my lineups. I've been dipsy-doodling every day. Is that a word?" -- Mackanin, on trying to figure out the Phillies' optimal lineup.

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies will send lefty Adam Morgan to the mound on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET, as they seek to avoid a sweep against the Nationals. Morgan has struggled this year, recording a 6.70 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. But he earned a quality start on Monday against the Cubs, pitching six innings and allowing three runs in a 6-4 Phillies loss.

PHILS PHACTS:

Nola’s Off Day – Phillies manager Pete Mackanin and starter Aaron Nola agreed on how to describe the righty's outing on Saturday: "Out of sync." Nola lasted only 3 2/3 innings in an 8-0 loss to the Nationals at Nationals Park, giving up four runs on seven hits. "There was something about his rhythm that just didn't look right," Mackanin said. "He didn't make that many bad pitches, but he didn't look like he was in sync." Nola concurred, offering a laundry list of self-pointed criticisms of the outing. "I felt pretty wild with all my pitches," Nola said. "My curveball was hanging a lot. They put some good swings on those, especially when I had two strikes. It was too much in the zone. And my fastball, my two-seamer was running too much. I couldn't really control it much. And just getting behind guys really hurt me today. It made my pitch count jump up pretty quick, pretty high." Nola, a 23-year-old in his first full big league season, entered Saturday with a 2.65 ERA. But endured arguably his worst start of the season at Nationals Park. Most of the righty's problems came in the second inning, when he hit Wilson Ramos with a two-seam fastball that got away. Then, he allowed four singles, with an RBI squeeze bunt mixed in. By the time the inning was over, Nola and the Phillies trailed 4-0. Mackanin removed Nola with two outs in the fourth inning, following a Ben Revere double. The manager said he removed his pitcher out of concern over his pitch count, which ended up at 82 for the afternoon.

Today In Phils History – It was on this day in 1939 when Grover Cleveland Alexander attended the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as a member of the inaugural induction class. Also celebrating that day was Red Dooin who was born 60 years prior to that initial induction. 5 years later, the Phillies released another Hall of Famer in Chuck Klein. A decade later the Phillies where on the wrong end of Jim Wilson’s no hit effort. 3 years later in 1957 the Phillies saw another visiting player make some history as Stan Musial set the new NL record for consecutive games at 823. 2 year later, the Phillies were once again the victims of a no hit effort this time from Mike McCormick whose 5 inning effort stood up thanks to the game being called due to rain. Another oddity, on this day in 1987, for the second time that season, right fielder Glenn Wilson threw out Montreal pitcher Bryn Smith at first after an apparent single. 11 years later the Phillies honored Johnny Callison as he was inducted in the Phillies Wall of Fame. A decade after that, Brad Lidge, in the midst of a perfect season, became the 1st Phillie to start a season with 18 consecutive saves. 2 years later the mood was a little different as Joe Blanton allowed the 1^st 5 Boston batters to reach base and score including Daniel Nava who hit the first major league pitch he saw for a grand slam becoming the 4^th player in MLB history to do so. Lastly, it was 2 years ago today when Ken Giles made his major league debut with the Phillies.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 29-33 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 45-47-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!