Phillies Take Lead In 8th; Beat Nats 5-3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Young scored the go-ahead run from first base on a single in the eighth inning, and Domonic Brown homered and hit an RBI double as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 Saturday night.
The win evened the three-game series and gives the Phillies another chance to reach .500 in Sunday's finale — when they can also catch the Nationals for second place in the NL East.
Young walked and came home on Delmon Young's single to the right-field corner, stretching his hand across the plate to beat Bryce Harper's throw to break a 3-all tie. Pinch-runner Michael Martinez then scored on Brown's double to right-center.
The runs came off Drew Storen (0-1), the latest failure for a Nationals bullpen that manager Davey Johnson said "keeps me up more than the offense" — a strong statement considering that Johnson has vowed to stop shaving until his lineup breaks out of its collective hitting slump.
Chad Durbin (1-0) got two outs for the win, but was removed with one out in the eighth after allowing a bunt single and a walk. Jeremy Horst pitched out of the jam and Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his ninth save.
Starters Dan Haren and Jonathan Pettibone both went six innings. Haren had quite the eclectic line: six innings, three runs, 10 strikeouts, one walk and four hits — all for extra bases. Brown and Erik Kratz hit homers on back-to-back pitches in the second inning, and Pettibone and Jimmy Rollins pounded back-to-back doubles to produce a run in the fifth.
Pettibone, a rookie yet to lose a decision over seven starts, was also mowing them down, matching his career high with six strikeouts while scattering nine hits and three runs. He allowed single runs in the third, fourth and fifth.
Denard Span had three hits, including an RBI single, while Adam LaRoche had an RBI single and an opposite-field homer for the Nationals, but it was hardly the offensive outburst Johnson has been seeking during his razor boycott. The 70-year-old manager decided to keep letting his facial hair grow despite a modest five-run output in Friday night's win.
"My wife said I could keep it one more day," Johnson said before the game. "The players want me to keep it. They think it looks better."
Asked if he thinks it looks better, Johnson said: "With the fuzz I've got? It's gray. You kidding me? You can't hardly see it, if you've got my eyes. I can't see it unless I put my glasses on."
NOTES: The play of the day was made accidentally by Nationals 2B Steve Lombardozzi. While trying to field a drag bunt by Freddy Galvis, Lombardozzi had the ball carom off his glove and his knee — and straight to 1B LaRoche for the out. ... Nationals OF Tyler Moore singled for the second straight game, raising his average to a still-dubious .139. His struggles earned a special mention when Johnson was talking about facial hair. "I told Tyler the reason I was growing this was for him, to change his luck," the manager said. "But, partially, I am." ... Pettibone's double sailed over the head of Span in center, the pitcher's second major league hit and first for extra bases. ... Brown has RBIs in five straight games. ... Pettibone became the first Phillies rookie to allow three earned runs or fewer in each of his first seven starts since Charles Hudson in 1983. ... The Nationals called up utility man Jeff Kobernus from Triple-A Syracuse and designated RHP Yunesky Maya for assignment. It was Kobernus' first day with the major league club, and his pregame duties included signing his name on a big white piece of paper so it could be scanned and put on the scoreboard if he made an appearance at the plate. Also, his parents flew in from California for the game, and they got to see him enter as a pinch runner in the eighth.
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