Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Washburn Nearly Perfect; Phillies Drub Reds, 22-1

Players of the Day for Monday, July 6, 2009 American League Jerrod Washburn threw a one-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles, the only hit coming off the bat of Nick Markakis with two out in the 4th inning. With the 5-0 win, the Mariners kept within striking range in the AL West, 3 1/2 games behind the Angels and 2 1/2 back of second place Texas. Washburn (5-6) didn't allow a walk and no batter made it past first base. He put down the first 11 in order, and the final 16 after Markakis' scratch single. Despite his record, Washburn still sports high quality stats, with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, is allowing opposing batters to hit at a .230 clip in 2008. National League The Phillies struck for 10 runs in the first inning en route to a 22-1 beating of the Reds, the worst defeat in Cincinnati's storied history. The first inning was a bona fide disaster, with three walks, a batter hit by pitch, one single, two doubles and three home runs. Most of the damage was done to Reds' starter Johnny Cueto, who allowed all the hits and walks except Chase Utley's three-run blast which completed the scoring for the inning. Philly wasn't nearly done, however, banging out 21 hits (10 for extra bases), including a Jayson Werth grand slam and five RBI, a single, double and two RBI by Phillie starter Cole Hamels, and four hits for part-timer Greg Dobbs. But the best plate performance went to Shane Victorino, who homered, singled and cracked a pair of doubles in 5 at-bats, scoring 5 times and driving in 4 runs. He wore out the dish as well as the Reds pitching staff. The win gave the Phillies some breathing room in the NL East, as the Marlins lost to San Francisco, 5-4, dropping them 2 games back. Despite the pounding, the game still counts as just one loss for the Reds, who fell to 5th place, 3 1/2 behind St. Louis in the tight NL Central.

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