Washington Nationals humbled by Philadelphia Phillies 3-6 as Ross Detwiler lacks control - MLB
Starter Ross Detwiler leaks runs as Washington Nationals suffer a 3-6 defeat against Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 25, 2012 in the first game of the three match series.
Nationals’ dominance has been challenged by the Phillies as they hurt their progress by getting beat by them on Tuesday. Detwiler who earlier in the season performed well is not at his best these days.
He allowed hits and gave up runs. Far from realising an extra responsibility after the shut-down of Stephen Strasburg, he is costing defeats.
The bottom of the third saw the Phillies scoring four runs. This took their lead to a level from where they could win the game.
Nationals needed extra-ordinary performances from their batters thereafter. Although they fought back in the fifth, they were short of surpassing the Phillies.
Catcher Carlos Ruiz stands out as soon as he joins the Phillies. He has been excellent in the season before he left due to injury. As he contributed three RBIs on Tuesday, he has reiterated once again that he is the most successful batter for the team this
year.
Cole Hamels recorded his 16th win as he struck-out six and gave up three runs.
Hamels points out that they are looking to deliver best possible performances regardless of where they stand on the National League East Division table.
"We just want to play good baseball," Hamels said. "They're going to be doing something special, but we just want to play the game the right way."
Talking about Detwiler, Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson discusses the quality fastballs that he is capable of throwing. The desire to throw every pitch fast often affects his control and results into walks.
"He has such a good fastball that sometimes that's all he wants to throw," Davey Johnson said.
Detwiler cannot afford to permit batters walking and drawing runs from his pitches. He will be working on his fastballs in the next couple of days and making sure he achieves precision in throwing them.
Nationals at the moment will be looking at October and thinking about how they can keep their dominance afloat. It will be interesting to see as to what extent the defeat against the Phillies impacts their momentum.
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