The Philadelphia Phillies lost their fourth straight game on Friday afternoon, falling to the Nationals 3-2. Their record drops to 3-7.
On The Mound
- Aaron Nola anchored the Phillies with another solid start, allowing just one run over five innings while stricking out six.
- Nola scattered six hits, with his only earned run coming in the second inning.
- The second was Nola’s roughest frame. After giving up a double and a single, Nola gave up the run on a single to Matt Wieters, leaving two men on with just one out. However, the young righty worked his way through without allowing further damage, picking up a strikeout and a groundout to get out of the frame.
- Pat Neshek came on in relief of Nola in the sixth, and pitched a scoreless inning.
- Edubray Ramos gave up the lead in the seventh, allowing a two-out double to tie the game at 2-2.
- Hector Neris pitched a scoreless eighth.
- Jeanmar Gomez got through the ninth, but gave up a run in the 10th to take the loss.
At The Plate
- The offense put up just two runs on six hits.
- Tommy Joseph hit a solo homer off of Strasburg in the second inning to put the Phils on the board.
- Cesar Hernandez gave the team the lead with an RBI-single in the fifth.
- Howie Kendrick went 1-4 with a double.
- Odubel Herrera went 0-3 with a walk.
- Maikel Franco turned in an 0-4.
- Michael Saunders went 2-4 with a couple of singles.
- Cameron Rupp doubled and scored a run, but also grounded into a critical double-play when the Phils had two men on the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts
Not a lot of players have gotten off to good starts for the Phillies this year, but one guy you can feel pretty good about is Aaron Nola.
Nola, coming off of a poor finish to the 2016 campaign and a rocky Spring Training was one of the larger question marks as the season began. He opened as the fifth starter, but so far he’s turned in two solid outings, allowing four runs over 11 innings of work.
If Nola is able to rediscover what made him successful at the beginning of his career, it would go a long way towards getting this team on the right track. I like how the team has handled him in the regular season so far. By asking him to be the fifth starter, and not having him go deeper into games, they’ve gotten him a good opportunity to get his confidence up and get some good momentum.
However, the offense remains pretty lifeless.
How many games does Pete Mackanin need to see before he shakes things up a bit? I can’t understand why guys like Daniel Nava and Andres Blanco haven’t seen more at-bats. Neither are saviors, but a little fresh blood in the lineup could help create some fresh energy.
