Cliff Lee, Phillies Get Thrashed by Nationals
By: Mike Reisman
Tonight was a night that Cliff Lee and the Phillies probably would like to forget. Tonight's game started optimistically after the Phillies won a close game yesterday, and sent ace number two, Cliff Lee out to the mound tonight. However, after losing ten of their last twelve games, the Nationals were due for a big game, and they got one.
Neither team scored until the 3rd inning, when the Nationals got a sacrifice fly from Jayson Werth to take a 1-0 lead. Mike Morse would single home a run, followed by rookie Danny Espinosa hitting a three run home run, giving the Nationals a 5-0 lead.
The Phillies would attempt to cut into the lead, with back-to-back home runs from Domonic Brown and John Mayberry Jr., the Phillies second in two days, and their second this year, to make the score 5-2.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, those were all the runs the Phillies could score off of Jason Marquis and the Nationals, and the Nats just took off from there. Another home run, a solo shot, by Danny Espinosa ended ultimately ended Cliff Lee's night as he would be replaced by Michael Stutes two batters later. But the Nationals weren't done, and in the 7th inning, they were able to score three runs on four hits. They would cap off the scoring with a Jayson Werth double in the 8th, giving the Nationals a 10-2 lead.
The game would end 10-2, giving Cliff Lee his fifth loss of the year, and giving Jason Marquis his sixth win of the year.
Tonight, Cliff Lee joined Roy Halladay and Vance Worley in the group of Phillies pitchers who have had bad outings recently. However, unlike Halladay yesterday, Lee could get very little support from Phillies hitters. Lee allowed six runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings tonight, a poor performance for any major league pitcher let alone the AL's former Cy Young winner. This year, Lee has not been as dominant, walking many more batters than is normal for him. His 12 walks in his last four games is more than half of all the walks he allowed all of last season, something very rare for the ace known for his control. Lee needs to get back to pitching more consistently good games, if the Phillies want their acquisition of the All-Star to be justified.
Another notable Phillie tonight was John Mayberry Jr., who struggled this month, hitting only .191 over the course of May. Tonight was Mayberry's first home run of the month, something he needs to continue if he wants to stay in the majors. Mayberry is definitely a candidate to be sent down when Shane Victorino returns, and if he wants to stay, more power numbers and an increase in his batting average could help guarantee him a spot with the club.
The Phillies and Nationals continue tomorrow at 1:05 as Roy Oswalt faces the 2-5 John Lannan.