Phillies win Series Opener at the Nationals

Andres Blanco #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with Darin Ruf #18 after scoring the game winning run in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 26, 2016 in Washington, DC. Philadelphia won the game 4-3.

(April 26, 2016 - Source: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America)

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 to win the opener of the three-game series at Nationals Park.

The Phillies were off to a great start. Leadoff hitter CF Odubel Herrera walked and SS Andres Blanco followed with his first home run of the season to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead after the first inning.

The Nationals responded with one run in the second inning. 2B Daniel Murphy hit a leadoff double, his sixth double of the season, and advanced to third base on a wild pitch by SP Vince Velasquez. SS Danny Espinosa hit a perfect sacrifice bunt to the right, which gave Daniel Murphy plenty of time to run home.

Philadelphia’s 1B Ryan Howard opened the fourth inning with a walk. C Cameron Rupp’s following double had two runners in scoring position. Ryan Howard tried to score as LF David Lough hit into fielder’s choice but 1B Ryan Zimmerman got the ball fast enough to C Jose Lobaton, who tagged Howard before he reached home plate.

The Phillies still managed to score on the next play. 2B Cesar Hernandez hit a single to left field and Cameron Rupp, who advanced to third base on the previous play, scored easily for a 3-1 lead.

Washington tied the game in the fifth inning. SP Max Scherzer hit a one-out single and CF Michael Taylor followed with a walk. When 3B Anthony Rendon hit a groundball, it looked like 3B Maikel Franco could turn it into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Instead, he stepped on third base for the second out but his throw to first base was too late for the double play.

With the inning still alive, RF Bryce Harper stepped to the plate. His two-out single drove in Michael Taylor and Anthony Rendon advanced to third base. Ryan Zimmerman hit another single and Rendon came home for the tying run.

The Phillies regained the lead in the seventh inning. RP Oliver Perez managed to strike out Odubel Herrera but two consecutive doubles from Andres Blanco and Maikel Franco gave Philadelphia the game-winning run.

Max Scherzer had to work hard all evening. He threw 116 pitches in six innings of work, allowing 7 hits, 4 walks and 3 earned runs while striking out 7. He has a 4.35 ERA this season with a 1.32 WHIP.

Vince Velasquez pitched 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 earned runs and striking out 4. After four starts, and a 3-1 record, his ERA stands at an impressive 1.78 with a 0.87 WHIP.

Bryce Harper went 1-for-2 with 1 RBI and walked three times. He is batting .328 this season with 15 runs, 9 HR and 24 RBI.

Andres Blanco went 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 1 HR and 2 RBI. He now has a batting average of .346 with 4 runs, 1 HR and 5 RBI.