Philadelphia Phillies win 4-2 against Washington Nationals in Citizens Bank Park - MLB Update
Centre-fielder John Mayberry Jr. drives in three runs as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 25, 2012 in the second game of their three match series.
Phillies were successful in sending their base-runners aboard. It was for the same reason even with just six hits on Saturday they scored a greater number of runs. On the other hand, the Nationals managed seven hits and yet failed to score sufficient number
of runs.
Roy Halladay started for the Phillies and recorded his eighth win of the season. He completed seven innings and gave up two runs while striking-out six. Blocking formidable offence of the Nationals tells something about the extent to which he was precise
in his throws.
Halladay seems to be feeling comfortable on the mound now. After he struggled earlier, he was drawing criticism from various quarters. Earlier he was putting more effort on his shoulders in order to create power but on Saturday he appeared to be throwing
at his best with little effort.
"I didn't have to force as much today," Halladay said. "From fifth inning on, it's probably the most consistent it's been in a while. I felt pretty good today. I felt like I wasn't laboring as much and that makes a difference."
Other than Halladay, the Phillies’ relievers were also impressive. Both Antonio Bastardo and the closer Jonathan Papelbon threw solid innings and remained scoreless. In turn they disallowed the Nationals from enjoying any late-innings run rampage, effectively
ensuring victory for the team.
Meanwhile, Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson without taking anything away from the Phillies believes that the injuries to their players are hurting them. Washington's offence has seen its production affected after Ian Desmond and Michael Morse have been injured.
"Our offense is struggling a little with (injured players) out, but you've got to give credit to their pitching," said Davey Johnson.
It was the second straight defeat by the Nationals against the Phillies and therefore they cannot afford to keep losing games. They will be going all-out to win the last match of the series.
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