The Nationals once again pitched very well in this game as Gio Gonzalez pitched a very good game holding the Phillies to one run with only 2 hits and 1 walk, and the Nationals bullpen threw a 3 inning shutout with Shawn Kelley earning his 7th save.
The Nationals offense got on the board in the 1st innings with a Jayson Werth solo home run that measured 453 feet that sailed above the batter’s eye for Werth’s 20th home run of the season, and Wilson Ramos had the game winning RBI with a clutch 2-out RBI single in an 8 pitch at-bat where he hit a ball to rightfield scoring Anthony Rendon. The Nationals had their chances to add-on runs, but couldn’t get any more clutch hits on the evening. Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth had two hits each in the game.
Dusty Baker inserted Trea Turner for defense when he inserted Shawn Kelley with 2 outs in the 9th inning, and Franco shot a hard grounder up the middle that Trea Turner tracked down and made a fabulous play to end the game. The infield defense was very good all night as Ryan Zimmerman had a few really nice plays that he made look easy.
The Nationals combined great pitching and defense to hold the Phillies to the one run. The Nationals completed the grueling stretch of 20 straight games with an 11-9 W/L record, and close out August with a 17-11 record.
