Phillies 6, Nats 0
The big news of the day remains the condition of rookie right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who underwent an MRI on Sunday to check his strained right flexor tendon. More on that Monday when the Nats announce the results. But there was also a game on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia – albeit a rain-delayed one.
Recommended Stories
Washington has twice hit Roy Oswalt hard this season. That trend was unlikely to continue. Oswalt pitched seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and a walk and striking out eight batters. That helped Philadelphia (70-53) keep pace with first-place Atlanta (73-51) in the National League East. It remains 2 ½ games behind.
The Nats (53-71) have no such concerns, of course. But they got a decent start from Scott Olsen. He went six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with two walks. Again, Olsen (3-6, 5.21 ERA) faded late though. He allowed three earned runs in the sixth inning against Atlanta last Tuesday. The Phillies tacked on two runs against him in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday with Washington already down 2-0.
Few players did much at the plate against Oswalt (9-13, 3.22 ERA). Nyjer Morgan was 2-for-3 with a stolen base. And Roger Bernadina had a hit and two stolen bases. But no one else contributed. A delay of 1 hour, 44 minutes halted play after the top of the seventh inning. The Phillies scored twice off reliever Craig Stammen before he recorded an out thanks to Raul Ibanez’s two-run homer to right.
So it’s back to the District, where a seven-game homestand against the Cubs and Cardinals awaits at Nationals Park. Bryce Harper will be introduced to fans and media before Thursday’s game. Maybe late in the week we’ll know the status of Jordan Zimmermann and Yunesky Maya, both working their way toward the big-league rotation. And, of course, we’ll find out about Strasburg’s injury by tomorrow morning at the latest.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
