Final: Philadelphia Washington 4, Washington 2 ❖
WASHINGTON, PA — The Phillies took to their second game against the Washington Nationals, losers of four games in a row. The Nationals sent underrated starting pitcher Tanner Roark to the mound, while the Phillies sent their most-veteran starter to the mound in Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson would show why the Phillies overpaid him this offseason with a $17.2 million qualifying offer.
Hellickson went seven strong innings, departing the game with the game tied at 2. But after Freddy Galvis was hit by a pitch by Nationals reliever Joe Blanton, Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez homered to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead. Hector Neris got the hold by pitching a clean eighth inning and Joaquin Benoit earned his first save since taking on the closer's role for the Phillies.
WP: Jeremy Hellickson (2-0, 1.59 ERA) ❖ LP: Joe Blanton (0-2, 6.43 ERA) ❖ S: Benoit (1)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
| WAS |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
The pitching was the primary story for this matchup. Roark pitched very well, going seven innings and allowing just two earned runs before Blanton allowed the home run to Hernandez. Hellickson matched Roark with seven innings and just two earned runs.
The Phillies got their first run on an Odubel Herrera RBI double in the fourth inning. The very next batter, Maikel Franco, tapped a ground ball that was enough to score a second run for the Phillies. That would be it until Hernandez struck in the seventh inning.
The Nationals got their first run in the third inning, when Anthony Rendon connected on an RBI single. The only other run came off the bat of outfielder Chris Heisey, who was filling in at left field today. Heisey homered off of Hellickson in the bottom of the seventh inning.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Hellickson | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.29 |
| Tanner Roark | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.50 |
Phillies
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-4 HR, 2 RBI, .313 AVG
- Odubel Herrera: 1-4, RBI, .282 AVG
- Howie Kendrick: 1-4, R .333 AVG
Nationals
- Bryce Harper: 0-4, .300 AVG
- Daniel Murphy: 0-4, .408 AVG
- Ryan Zimmerman: 0-4, .341 AVG
Phillies
- Hector Neris: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Joaquin Benoit: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Nationals
- Joe Blanton: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 6.43 ERA
- Matt Albers: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
What's Next
- Sunday, April 16, 2017: at Washington Nationals, 1:35 p.m.
- Nationals Park
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 1.98 ERA) vs. RHP Gio Gonzalez (1-0, 0.69 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLBN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
