Washington, DC – Jayson Werth smacked a go-ahead two-run homer, the 1,000th hit of his career, as part of a five-run seventh inning in the Washington Nationals' 8-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle test of a three-game set.
Werth registered three hits and three runs scored for the Nationals, who have won two in a row since a four-game losing streak.
"When you set out playing this game, however many years ago, that was one thing, a benchmark you put on the list of things you want to accomplish," Werth said.
Tanner Roark (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Phillies starter Cliff Lee fanned six, but allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while Darin Ruf belted a two-run shot for Philadelphia, which has dropped eight of its last 10 tilts.
"When you start losing and you find different ways to lose every night it becomes tough," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "You've got to fight through it."
Washington trailed 4-0 after the Phillies pushed across four runs in the second, but the Nats plated two in the fourth and another in the sixth before exploding in the seventh.
Jake Diekman (0-3) took over for Lee on the mound in the seventh and issued a leadoff walk of Steve Lombardozzi. Denard Span sacrificed Lombardozzi to second before he stole third. Ryan Zimmerman then walked and Lombardozzi scored when Bryce Harper hit into a fielder's choice.
Zach Miner replaced Diekman on the bump and served up Werth's two-run shot, a towering blast just over the wall down the left-field line to give the Nats a 6-4 edge.
Anthony Rendon's two-out single later in the frame brought home two more to make it 8-4.
Domonic Brown's solo homer in the eighth cut the gap to 8-5, but Rafael Soriano fired a scoreless ninth to notch his 29th save of the year.
Earlier, Ruf's two-run shot, a Lee squeeze bunt and a Jimmy Rollins single in the second staked Philly a 4-0 advantage. Werth's run-scoring single and Adam LaRoche's RBI groundout in the fourth trimmed the gap in half and Wilson Ramos' RBI single in the sixth made it 4-3.
Game Notes
Washington was 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while the Phillies finished 2-for-7 with RISP ... Werth's homer was his 17th of the year and his 1,000th career hit.
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