THE RESULT: So much for counting on Jason Marquis.
All the questions of his early-season struggles returned Friday night, as the veteran right-hander retired just one batter in the first inning and the Philadelphia Phillies cruised to a 9-1 win over the Washington Nationals, before 45,338 Phillies Phans at Citizen's Bank Park.
The Nats were actually up 1-0 by the time Marquis took the hill, courtesy of a Ryan Zimmerman RBI single, driving in Danny Espinosa, who singled to lead off the game.
Unfortunately, Marquis was simply terrible. He gave up six earned runs on six hits, one walk, and one hit batter. He got leadoff hitter Shane Victorino to foul out, but the next eight batters reached. Marquis' death knell was an RBI-single by opposing pitcher Roy Oswalt (W, 13-13, 2.90).
Marquis' ERA rose from 6.60 to 7.71 and his record drops to 2-9.
The Nats pretty much turtled after that. They managed eight hits, but four were by Silver Slugger Ryan Zimmerman, who raised his average to .308. Again, the team had trouble with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-10 in those situations.
Adding insult to injury, the Nats also committed two errors. Joe Bisensius dropped a throw and Zimmerman sailed one that Adam Dunn could not track down. It was Zimmerman's 16th error of the season.
THE GOOD: Zimmerman. His four-hit night went to complete waste. He's been scorching at the plate lately. Since Sept. 1, Zim is hitting .392 and getting on base at a .456 clip, though only two of his 20 hits this month have gone for extra bases.
THE BAD: Adam Dunn. Went 0-for-4 with two Ks and a GIDP. He left five runners on base. But he made a couple nice picks at first.
THE UGLY: Marquis. Just when it looked like the Nats could feel relatively comfortable penciling him into the rotation to start 2011, he lays a bomb like this. Says something about his season that this was only his second-worst start.
THE STATS: 9 Ks, 2 BBs, 1-for-10 with RISP, 7 LOB, 1 GIDP.
NEXT GAME: Tonight in Philly at 7:05 pm. Jordan Zimmermann (0-1, 5.29) against Kyle Kendrick (9-9, 4.85)
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