Cole Hamels gave up just five hits and one earned run in eight innings on the mound as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals, 9-3, on Sunday Night Baseball. Hamels also picked up eight strikeouts to improve his record to 4-1 this season and move Philly back within one win of a .500 winning percentage.
Jordan Zimmermann pitched well for the Nats, though certainly wasn't as sharp as his Phillies counterpart. Zimmermann lasted six innings, giving up three earned runs and seven hits. He gave up a two run homer to Hunter Pence in the fourth inning that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. The Phillies poured it on in the ninth inning, scoring six runs off singles by Juan Pierre and Freddy Galvis, a triple by Shane Victorino, and another two-run shot from Pence.
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Bryce Harper managed to steal home plate on Hamels' attempted pick off at first. Harper showed off some nifty base-running when he went from first to third on a Jayson Werth single to set up the steal. The Nationals added two more runs in their final turn on offense, scoring off Brian Sanches on a double by Roger Bernadina and an infield single by Ian Desmond.
For all your Philadelphia Phillies news and info, head to The Good Phight. If you're a Nationals fan, check out Federal Baseball. If that's still not enough baseball, spend some time at Baseball Nation and check out SB Nation on YouTube.