Two young pitchers, both having recently become very formidable hurlers for their respective teams, took the mound for the first matchup between the Phillies and Nationals. Each would be taking on two of the worst offenses in all of baseball. For these reasons, we were destined to see an entertaining pitcher's duel between righties Kyle Kendrick and Jordan Zimmermann. And, with both teams coming in with nearly identical records, and the winner of the series taking second place in the NL East, both squads had a reason to play just that much harder.
Both pitchers came out throwing just as the fans expected. Zimmermann worked a 10 pitch 1-2-3 first inning, while Kendrick managed to escape with only a single given up to Ryan Zimmerman. In the second, each guy's early success was quickly halted.
Ryan Howard began the frame by lacing a double to right center field. Newly productive Delmon Young followed by grounding to short, but hitting just enough to move Piece over to third. This would allow a Domonic Brown screamer to right to score Howard, and give the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.
Kendrick's trouble came in the form of 28 pitches. The first batter was swiftly retired, but a 10 pitch walk to Kurt Suzuki nearly open the flood gates. He would then retire the next Nat with a fly out, but allowed a single to Steve Lombardozzi that advanced Suzuki to third. Lombardozzi was able to move to second on the throw, but Kendrick successfully grounded out Zimmermann to finish the inning.
Another 1-2-3 run through came for Zimermann in the third. Kendrick ran into a bit more trouble, walking Bryce Harper, Zimerman, and Adam LaRoche in a row after retiring Denard Span to begin the third. He was able to force a fly ball to right, but it became a sac fly when Delmon Young threw the ball to third. Harper scored and the game was tied, 1-1. An 0-2 fly to right center field ended the threat.
The fourth inning at Nationals Park began just as the first and third had: a 1-2-3 inning for Jordan Zimmermann. Kendrick was able to get Tyler Moore to ground to short, but a high throw by Jimmy Rollins allowed Moore to move to second. Lombardozzi then blooped a ball to center, and the NAts surprisingly sent Moore home. Now, I know Ben Revere has not been the favorite of many recently, but he has to be applauded for his play here. The mechanics looked so wrong, but the throw was so right. It one-hopped Erik Kratz at the plate, and a monstrous collision at home ended in a loud first out, with Kratz holding onto the ball. Kendrick would retire the next to batters and keep the score tied. (side note: If you can, check out the audio of Sarge after the play. Classic.)
On the first pitch of the fifth, Brown singled and promptly moved to second on a wild pitch. Freddy Galvis would single to center, but a bad reading by Brown kept him at third. Kratz followed with a sac fly to Harper, who through the ball to second and kept Galvis on first. Kendrick and Rollins would hit consecutive singles, loading the bases for Revere. As you probably just guessed, he would ground into the infamous inning-ending double play. However, the Phillies left the inning with a 2-1 lead.
Harper would lead off with a single to Brown, but would be out at second on a Ryan Zimmerman fielder's choice. Adam LaRoche soon followed with a moonshot to center that just missed being a homerun. The Phillies are not allowed to have nice things, so Ben Revere misplayed the ball and let it drop for a triple. Zimmerman scored, and the game was tied once again. Kendrick did strike out the next batter, but gave up a clutch RBI single to Kurt Suzuki. A chopper to third ate up Michael Young, and Lombardozzi split Revere and Young for a two-run double. A 1-3 putout ended it. How quickly this entertaining game turned sour. 5-2 Nationals.
Ryan Howard would reach on a Lombardozzi error, but vanished on a Delmon Young inning-ending double play. Mike Stutes came on to work an effective bottom of the sixth.
Again, the Phillies were set down in order by Zimmermann, this time in the seventh inning. Stutes returned to finish his impressive outing with another perfect inning.
Familiar nemesis Tyler Clippard came on and continued to silence the Philly offense. B. J. Rosenberg gave up a walk, but forced a double play. He was then replaced by Jeremy Horst. Horst gave up two singles, but finished off the inning with a Bryce Harper groundout (I like pointing out his flaws).
Rafael Soriano came in and closed the door on any comeback for the Phillies, and the Nationals take Game 1, 5-2.
There really is no reason why the Phillies should have lost this game. Kyle Kendrick did not have the best stuff, but it was enough to keep up with Zimmermann. Even with his fantastic play in the fourth, Revere's misplay in the fifth essentially cost the team the game. I'm not going to get into my renewed distaste of the Worley/May-Revere trade, but check my Twitter, because it was a waste of a move. Anyway, the Phillies should be at the .500 mark right now and tied for second in the division. Instead, miscues and sloppy baseball have them still stagnant in third place.
While they still have a chance to take the series from their rival, the Phillies have a long road ahead of them. Chooch, Chase Utley, and Roy Halladay remain on the DL, and no offense having been brought up from AAA just yet, the next few weeks are crucial. Finishing off the final two games of this series would bode well heading into Boston (which hopefully equates to a win when I'm there Monday).
Jonathan Pettibone and Dan Haren will face off in game two of the series at 7:15 tomorrow night.
