Asher records first win as Phillies defeat Nationals
WASHINGTON -- Alec Asher pitched six shutout innings for his first major league victory and Peter Bourjos and Ryan Howard hit homers in the third inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 on Thursday night.
The Nationals (82-58), who had won three in a row, lead the idle New York Mets by eight games in the National League East. The fourth-place Phillies (63-77) beat Washington for the first time in 10 tries.
Asher (1-0), in his first big league start of the year and eighth overall, allowed two hits and one walk with no strikeouts before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Asher was aided by a number of line drive outs hit by the Nationals to Philadelphia outfielders.
Edubray Ramos pitched a perfect seventh for the Phillies. Hector Neris came on in the eighth and loaded the bases with one out on a single by Stephen Drew, double by Trea Turner and walk to Jayson Werth.
Daniel Murphy drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1, but Neris escaped further trouble as he fanned Bryce Harper for the third out with runners on first and second. Jeanmar Gomez pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 40 opportunities.
The losing pitcher was A.J. Cole, who fell to 1-2 in his seventh big league appearance. He gave up four runs and five hits in five innings before Matt Belisle took over in the sixth for the Nationals.
The Phillies scored four runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead.
Bourjos led off with a solo shot off the foul pole in left. With one out, Cesar Hernandez singled and with two outs Andres Blanco was hit by a pitch.
Howard followed with a three-run homer to center off Cole, who gave up his sixth homer of the season in 23 2/3 innings. It was the 21st homer of the year and 378th in the career for Howard and tied him with Matt Williams -- the Nationals manager last year -- for 72nd on the all-time list.
Asher, who served an 80-game suspension through MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, was 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA in his first seven major league starts last year with Philadelphia.
NOTES: Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, who left his start in the third inning Wednesday after 42 pitches, has a flexor mass strain, head athletic trainer Paul Lassard told reporters prior to Thursday's game. Strasburg, who came off the disabled list Wednesday to face the Atlanta Braves, had an MRI on Thursday but will not need a second Tommy John surgery and there is no timetable for his return. "Everybody's pretty satisfied of where we are at this point," manager Dusty Baker said. "This is very good to know. ... I did a lot of praying last night that it wouldn't be as serious as everybody was panicking about because how do you get worried about something that you don't know what it is? I think it's human nature to think the worst of all situations. Personally, I like to think the best of most situations, not let other people influence my mind." Strasburg is 15-4 with a 3.60 ERA in 24 starts. ... Phillies RHP Jake Thompson (1-5, 6.48 ERA) will face Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (14-8, 2.89) on Friday. ... Philadelphia RHP Alec Asher, the Thursday starter, was one of three pitchers acquired from the Texas Rangers in the trade for Cole Hamels last year. The others are Thompson and RHP Jerad Eickhoff, who will pitch Saturday.