Philadelphia Phillies defeat Washington Nationals 5-4 - MLB Update
The National League’s leading Philadelphia Phillies were successful in barely defeating the Washington Nationals 5-4 in the first of the three game series at Nationals Park in Washington DC on May 30.
The pitching calibre of Roy Halladay is such that even on the days that doesn’t have his best performance, as he has the ability to defeat the opposing team. Halladay, is usually related with pitching flawless, made quite a few mistakes as he battled it
out with the Nationals. He did not fail to perform in the most intense of situations and redeemed his mistakes before the game wrapped up.
Roy was just a bit too much for the Nationals even if it was not in full force. He pitched for seven innings in which he sacrificed ten hits and allowed four runs. Since the current season began, Halladay has let a meagre two home-runs pass him but in the
match against the Nationals he let three pass him by.
The Phillies offence, for a change supported their pitcher and Halladay acknowledged that and said, "It was a grind, it really was. Fortunately we did enough offensively. They picked me up a couple times. It was a nice way to end it, for sure."
Instead of taking out Roy from the mound when he faltered, manager Charlie Manuel let him get back on his feet and later commented, "He was there all the way. He got out of it, didn't he? That's who he is. He wants to be there, and that's what a No. 1 does."
The Phillies victory comes against their former player Jayson Werth, who signed on with Washington this season for a staggering $127-million contract that would last him seven years.
The second inning of the game witnessed Michael Morse belt out a 401 feet home-run immediately after which Jerry Hairston Jr. scored to put two runs on the board from the Nationals side.
The Phillies offence picked up in the fourth inning as two homers and a single were unleashed within the inning. Ryan Howard had the first home-run that covered a distance of 401 feet followed by one from Raul Ibanez which flew for 375 feet and effectively
tied the game. Carlos Ruiz scored off Dan Brown to put the Phillies ahead of the Nationals 3-2.
The Nationals replied by belting out two home-runs of their own courtesy of Danny Espinosa and Laynce Nix which were in the air for 384 and 387 feet respectively. The Nationals now led 4-3.
The seventh inning saw Placido Polanco and Chase Utley score, effectively winning the match for the Phillies 5-4.
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