Roark, Nationals shut down Phillies
WASHINGTON -- Starter Tanner Roark threw seven scoreless innings and utility men Clint Robinson and Michael Taylor each had three hits as the first-place Washington Nationals defeated the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 8-0 Saturday.
Roark (5-4) gave up six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts before Sammy Solis took over in the eighth. Roark bounced back after allowing five runs in Cincinnati on June 5.
The Nationals (38-24) are a season-high 14 games over .500 and have won five of their last six. The Phillies (29-33) have lost 16 of their last 21 games after they were a season-best seven games over .500 at 24-17 on May 18.
The Nationals scored four runs in the second to take a 4-0 lead. Stephen Drew had an RBI single, Roark drove in a run on a fielder's choice via a sacrifice bunt and Taylor and Bryce Harper had RBI singles.
The inning unraveled for the slumping Phillies when first baseman Tommy Joseph, fairly new to the position, threw late to the plate on the bunt by Roark that allowed Anthony Rendon to score.
Rendon then had a two-run double to give the Nationals a 6-0 lead in the fifth. Drew made it 7-0 with a sacrifice fly off Andrew Bailey. Ben Revere had an RBI single in the eighth to score Chris Heisey, who had a pinch-hit double against Hector Neris, to up the margin to 8-0.
Roark avoided a possible rally in the second when Cody Asche led off with a single and went to third on a double to right by Cameron Rupp. But Roark fanned the next three batters -- all swinging -- to escape the mess in what turned out to be a key turning point.
The losing pitcher was starter Aaron Nola (5-5), who gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings before lefty Elvis Araujo came on to retire Harper for the final out in the fourth. But Araujo allowed two runs before Bailey arrived from the bullpen in the fifth.
In his previous start at Washington April 28, Nola went seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Nola allowed just five hits and two runs against the Nationals at home May 31 in six innings.
Maikel Franco had two hits for the Phillies and Revere had two hits for Washington, which had 13 hits and has scored at least eight runs in five of its last six games.
NOTES: Washington OF Jayson Werth (2007-10), OF Ben Revere (2013-15) and RHP Jonathan Papelbon (2012-15) all played for the Phillies. ... Nationals hitting coach Rick Schu played mostly third base during his tenure with the Phillies from 1984-87 and 1991 as he hit 24 homers. ... Washington RHP Joe Ross (5-4, 2.92 ERA) will face Phillies LHP Adam Morgan (1-5, 6.70 ERA) in the series finale Sunday. ... Philadelphia 1B Tommy Joseph, who hit two homers Friday, was back in the starting lineup Saturday as manager Pete Mackanin has decided to bench 1B Ryan Howard (.150) and go with Joseph. ... Washington 3B Anthony Rendon was back in the starting lineup Saturday after he got a day off Friday. INF Stephen Drew, who homered Friday while playing third, started at shortstop on Saturday as SS Danny Espinosa got a day off.