Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Grady Sizemore went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored to help the Philadelphia Phillies take a 10-4 win over the Washington Nationals in the opener of a four-game series.
Philadelphia starter Cliff Lee exited the game with two outs in the third inning. He appeared to hurt his elbow while throwing a pitch to Denard Span and exited the game.
"I was hoping it was a little twinge that would go away, and it progressively got worse as the game went on," Lee said. "My last five or six pitches I felt like at any moment something could snap...and obviously I didn't want that to happen."
Lee was making just his third start after spending two months on the disabled list with a left elbow strain.
Ben Revere went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Chase Utley and Marlon Byrd drove in a pair for the Phillies, who dropped two of three to the Mets earlier this week. Antonio Bastardo (5-4) got the final out of the third to pick up the win.
Span drove in two runs while Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa had an RBI apiece for the Nationals, who have lost three of four. Gio Gonzalez (6-7) was tagged for five runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings to drop his third straight decision.
Span drove in two runs while Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa had an RBI apiece for the Nationals, who have lost three of four. Gio Gonzalez (6-7) was tagged for five runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings to drop his third straight decision.
"It was one of those nights where things just didn't go right," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "It's the way things go sometimes."
Byrd led off the fourth inning with a single and Carlos Ruiz followed suit. Sizemore then doubled home both runners. A walk by Darin Ruf and sacrifice bunt from Andres Blanco put men on second and third, and Domonic Brown's chopper to second scored Sizemore. Revere brought in Ruf with a single, and Brown later scored on a fielder's choice from Utley gave the Phillies a 5-0 lead.
The Nationals got one across in the home fourth as Anthony Rendon walked and moved to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Ramos single.
Washington got two more in the fifth, as Bryce Harper and Kevin Frandsen singled, and Scott Hairston was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Span, who brought home two with a single.
The Phillies, though, got both runs back in the sixth on an RBI single by Jimmy Rollins and a sacrifice fly by Utley to make it a 7-3 game.
Washington made it a 7-4 game in the seventh on Espinosa's RBI single in the seventh, but the Phillies pushed three more across in the eighth.
With the bases loaded and one out, Byrd singled home two runners with Utley getting tagged out at third on the play. Ruiz kept the inning alive with a single, and Sizemore brought home Byrd with a single for a 10-4 lead.
Game Notes
The Nationals acquired shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and cash considerations from Cleveland on Thursday for infielder Zach Walters ... Washington still leads the season series with Philadelphia, 6-4 ... The Phillies were a crisp 6- for-13 with runners in scoring position ... Only one of Philadelphia's 17 hits went for extra bases.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.