THE RESULT: You could see it coming a mile away.
And with each batter the outcome became increasingly clear.
Single. Double. RBI single. Home run.
That's how the Philadelphia Phillies erased a three-run deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6 in the ninth inning Sunday, before another sell-out crowd of 44,936 at Citizen's Bank Park. And that was while the Eagles were playing as well.
Say what you want to (and I have) about Philly fans, they support their sports teams.
Washington has lost seven of their last nine games and is 5-11 in September. They still sit on 62 wins for the season with 13 remaining to play.
Drew Storen came into a save situation against the heart of the Phillies order, and did not record an out. It was a blip on the his otherwise strong season, the first time in seven outings he'd been scored upon. But at least for this day, in the most heated of settings, the rookie came up short.
Placido Polanco hit a 1-2 pitch for a single to left center field. Chase Utley hit a 0-1 pitch to left for a double. Ryan Howard drove in both with a single to center on another 0-1 pitch. And Jayson Werth fouled off three straight with a full count before conencting with the game-winning homer, a blast to center that Storen could only watch and hang his head on.
It was Storen's second blown save of the season, and his record drops to 3-4, with a 3.83 ERA.
The Nats built their lead via the homer, as Willie Harris (9), Michael Morse (11), and Danny Espinosa (4) all hit big flies.
But it wasn't enough. Sunday proved once again no lead is enough in Philadelphia.
THE GOOD: Morse went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs. Harris went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
THE BAD: Ryan Zimmerman was the only Nats position player without a hit, going 0-for-5.
THE UGLY: In the fourth inning, Adam Dunn singled with one out. With the count 3-2 to Roger Bernadina, Manager Jim Riggleman put on a hit-and-run with a slow runner and a struggling hitter. The resulting "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play to end the inning was predicatable and disheartening.
THE STATS: 10 Ks, 2 BBs, 2-for-6 with RISP, 6 LOB, 0 GIDP.
NEXT GAME: The Nats start their last homestand of the season, a ten-game stand tonight against Houston. Livan Hernandez (10-11, 3.66) hosts Bud Norris (8-8, 4.95) at 7:05 at Nationals Park.
NATS NOTES: Yunesky Maya started and went 4 /3 innings. He allowed three earned runs on six hits, two walks, a hit batter and a balk, striking out two.
Joel Peralta, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard all pitched a shutout inning in relief.
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