Philly hands Washington eighth consecutive loss; Harris hits leadoff homer
There is no good way to prepare for Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jamie Moyer.
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The ageless left-hander throws a baseball at only three speeds: slow, slower and slowest. Those pitches look eminently hittable and yet can toy with the timing of batters, who he’s been embarrassing
since the end of the Reagan Administration.
The Nationals thought they had the 45-year-old on the ropes with three first-inning runs on Wednesday night. But they have always been Wile E. Coyote to Moyer’s Road Runner. He shut them down through the sixth and let his powerful offense do the rest in an 8-5 Philadelphia victory.
Moyer now is 10-4 with a 2.93 ERA lifetime against the Nats dating back to the franchise’s days as the Montreal Expos. Overall, in his 22nd major-league season, Moyer is 10-6 with a 3.79 ERA and is helping the first-place Phillies (58-49) make a run at another National League East title.
About the only Nats player who consistently solved Moyer was left fielder Willie Harris. The leadoff man homered off Moyer in the bottom of the first. It was the Nats’ first leadoff homer of the season and the start of a big night for Harris, who also doubled twice and scored two runs.
Washington (38-69) has lost eight in a row.
Nats notes
» GM Jim Bowden said negotiations with first-round draft pick Aaron Crow continue, but that little progress has been made. The deadline to sign is August 15.
» SS Cristian Guzman underwent an MRI on his bruised left thumb on Wednesday. No break was found and he remains day-to-day.
» RHP Steven Shell saw his 15-innings scoreless streak snapped after a seventh-inning homer. It was the longest streak by a Nats relief pitcher this season.
