Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – In just his fourth career start, Vance Worley went six strong innings and added a hit and a run scored, as the Philadelphia Phillies earned a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals in the second of a three-game series from Citizens Bank Park.
Worley (2-0) allowed just one run and four hits while striking out seven.
“He’s good, he’s got good stuff,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of Worley. “He keeps his composure and stays focused on what he’s doing.”
Raul Ibanez belted his second home run of the season and Shane Victorino added two RBI, as the Phillies notched their fifth series victory in six tries against National League East opponents.
Jason Marquis (3-1), who was aiming for the 100th victory of his career, took the loss after allowing six earned runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings.
“I thought Jason did fine,” said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. “He’s a groundball pitcher. They were finding holes. A lot of groundballs went through. It turns into a rally.”
A night after snapping an 0-for-35 slump with two doubles, Ibanez broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a solo shot to right.
In the same frame, with Wilson Valdez on first, Worley helped himself with a single to left. Jimmy Rollins followed with a walk to load the bases and Victorino placed a single between second and short, scoring Valdez. Worley then crossed the plate on a Placido Polanco sacrifice fly, giving the pitcher a 3-0 cushion.
Washington responded in the next half-inning, as Adam LaRoche lifted a ball into the left-center gap, reaching second with a two-out double and scoring Danny Espinosa in the process.
Undaunted, Philadelphia again loaded the bases to begin the sixth. A Valdez single then plated Ben Francisco and drove Marquis from the game. Reliever Brian Broderick struck out pinch-hitter Ross Gload swinging, but Rollins followed with a line drive single to center, scoring Ibanez and giving the Phillies a 5-1 lead.
Two more runs crossed the plate courtesy of Ian Desmond’s throwing error. Following Rollins’ single, Victorino grounded a ball to short. Attempting to turn the double play, Desmond threw the ball away at first, allowing Brian Schneider and Valdez to cross the plate.
“We finally got some offense going,” said Manuel. “The bottom of the lineup got on base and it seemed like the top knocked them in.”
Espinosa added a two-out, three-run blast in the ninth before Danys Baez induced a groundout to short from Desmond, sealing the win.
Wednesday marked the fifth straight game in which the Phillies’ starting pitcher threw at least 6.0 innings and allowed no more than one run…This season marks the third time that Marquis has started a campaign 3-0. He has never started a season 4-0…Philadelphia activated pitcher J.C. Romero from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday. He worked a scoreless frame in the win…Matt Stairs tallied the 100th pinch-hit of his career, becoming the 19th player in MLB annals to reach triple-digits in pinch hits and tying Rusty Staub (100) for 18th on the all-time list. Stairs’ 62 career pinch walks are the most among active players.