Ibanez’s 2 Homers Power Phillies Over Nationals in DH Game 1
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Phillies’ white-hot leftfielder Raul Ibanez stroked 3 hits while driving in 4 runs off of lefthander Scott Olsen. Brett Myers had his 2nd straight excellent outing, despite giving up 2 Washington solo homers and going seven innings and allowing only 3 hits. Along with other offensive support, Ibanez’s 2 homers powered the Phillies over Nationals by an 8-5 score in the 1st of a Saturday day/night doubeheader.
After Friday’s wild and woolly 12 inning marathan where 13 relievers were used, where the Phillies were forced to re-arrange their rotation and call up a starter from the minors to pitch today’s nightcap, the Phillies got a fine outing from Myers to take heat off of their bullpen while the Nationals’ Olsen got pounded hard.
Ibanez and 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman traded solo homers in the first inning while rightfielder Jayson Werth put the Phils up by 2-1 with a solo homer in the second.
Ibanez stroked a 1 out, 3 run homer, his 2nd of the game and 12th of the season, to rightfield in the third as the Phils took a 5-1 lead. Myers retired 9 of the 1st 11 hitters he faced, only giving up Zimmerman’s homer and a 2nd inning walk. The Phils had a chance to do more damage in the third, loading the bases with 2 out, but 2nd baseman Eric Bruntlett, subbing for Chase Utley who rested in game 1, lined out to centerfield to end the inning.
In the fourth, leftfielder Josh Willingham cut the margin to 5-2 with a 2 out solo shot off of Myers to centerfield. The Phils got the run back in the sixth on Werth’s RBI single for a 6-2 lead. Meanwhile Myers gave up a walk and a single while getting a fielders choice and a double-play to get through the fifth and coasted through the sixth and seventh retiring the last 6 hitters he faced.
Losing pitcher Olsen left the game after 5 innings having thrown 94 pitches and having given up 6 runs on 9 hits while walking 2, striking out 3 and coughing up 3 homers. Reliever Garrett Mock held the Phils off of the board in the sixth and seventh innings before being pounded for 2 Phillies insurance runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles by shortstop Jimmy Rollins and centerfielder Shane Victorino to extend the lead to 8-2.
Myers left after seven effective innings, winning his 3rd game of the season, having thrown 108 pitches while giving up 3 hits, 2 of them homers, while walking 2 and striking out 8.
The Phillies needed all the insurance they could get as the Nationals rallied back for 3 runs in their eighth inning off of a normally reliable Ryan Madson who brought a a 10 2/3 inning scoreless string into today’s game.
With the score 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth and the Phils feeling a bit of heat after Washington’s 3 run eighth, closer Brad Lidge came on to provide a more Lidge-like performance, only giving up a single while retiring the side on a fly out, a ground out to the pitcher and a strike out to close down Washington and earn his 6th save of the season.
Since lefthander J.A. Happ relieved and won Friday’s game, the Phils called up 24 year old righthander Andrew Carpenter to make his first major league start opposing Daniel Cabrera in the nightcap, a number of hours from now.
For all Saturday’s games, including the Phillies, Nationals day/night doubleheader, click here.
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