Phillies Unable to Best LaRoche, Nationals

The Phillies (66-76) went into today's game in hopes of sweeping the first place Nationals (80-61). Instead, they came up on the short end of things in a 3-2 loss. Sure, they may have wasted a solid outing from Hamels, but taking two out of three from the Nats is definitely a plus for the Phils moving forward. 

The Game: The Phils got the scoring going in the first inning. Grady Sizemore hit a one-run single to center field. After a Carlos Ruiz fly out, Marlon Byrd knocked in Sizemore with a single to center, making it 1-0 early in favor of Philadelphia.

The Nats got it back in the bottom of the second thanks to a solo homer off the bat of Adam LaRoche to tie the game at one. 

In the top of the fourth, Carlos Ruiz doubled to lead things off and Marlon Byrd singled, moving Ruiz to third base. Darin Ruf drove in Ruiz with a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Phils back a one run edge at 2-1.

Cole Hamels faced Adam LaRoche to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and the Nats first baseman went deep for his second homer of the night, a solo shot to right center, tying things at two a piece. 

The Nats tacked on the game-winning run in the sixth. Ian Desmond hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a balk. Scott Hairston knocked him in with a sac fly to left field, giving Washington the 3-2 lead that would end up being the final. 

Notable Offensive Statistics:

• Marlon Byrd: 2-4
• Maikel Franco: 0-3, GIDP
• Darin Ruf: 1-2, RBI
• Grady Sizemore: 1-4, R

Impact: Cole Hamels again didn't have his best stuff, but still managed to toss 6.1 strong innings, striking out seven hitters in addition to the three runs surrendered. Mike Adams and Antonio Bastardo kept the Nats at bay for the final innings, but the Phillies bats were silenced. Today was a game for guys to prove themselves and unfortunately it was somewhat of a letdown. Maikel Franco hasn't looked comfortable at the plate since being called up and Freddy Galvis, to no one's surprise went 0-for-3. He is hitting .086 on the year. The Phils didn't have too many opportunities to score in general, just 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Moving forward, the series victory is what you look at here, so this game was an unfortunate hiccup in the Phillies recent good stretch.

Up Next: The Phillies head back home to host the Pirates for a four-game series, which will include a homecoming of sorts for Vance Worley on Wednesday. Tomorrow, Kyle Kendrick (8-11, 4.77) gets the nod in the opener against Jeff Locke (6-4, 3.75).

Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com