Instant Replay: Phillies 8, Nationals 1

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WASHINGTON — The Phillies pounded Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals Saturday afternoon, giving the often snakebitten Cole Hamels more than enough support in an 8-1 win.

The Phils chased Strasburg after just 3 2/3 innings by scoring six times against him in the third and fourth innings.

Ryan Howard and Maikel Franco paced the offense. Howard went 3 for 5 with a solo home run to center and an RBI double. Franco went 2 for 4 with a booming two-run shot to right-center off Strasburg.

The Nationals committed four errors, all of them in the first four innings.

The eight runs were a season-high for the Phillies (19-26). The loss makes the Nationals 25-18. Washington had won 12 of its previous 14.

Starting pitching report
Hamels was razor sharp again, allowing just one run on five hits over eight innings. The lone run came with two outs in the eighth inning.

Three of the five hits Hamels allowed were slow dribblers down the third-base line. He induced plenty of weak contact, and has now faced 117 batters without allowing a home run.

Hamels has won four straight games and is now 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA. His opponents have hit .211 on the season.

Strasburg just isn't himself this season. Really, none of the Nationals' starters have been aside from ace Max Scherzer.

Strasburg was 5-0 with a 1.02 ERA in his previous nine starts against the Phillies, but the command just hasn't been there in 2015.

He's 3-5 with a 6.50 ERA this season and has just one start longer than six innings.

Strasburg allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk over 3 2/3 innings. His defense did not help him out at all.

Bullpen report
A.J. Cole, one of the Nationals' top pitching prospects the last few years, saved Washington's bullpen by pitching 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out seven.

Former Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen retired the Phils in order in the ninth in his Nationals debut.

For the Phillies, Justin De Fratus pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in relief of Hamels.

At the plate
When is the last time a Howard hot streak lasted this long? We're at 30 games now.

Howard has hit .303 in his last 30 contests with 10 home runs, 21 RBIs, 18 extra-base hits and a .661 slugging percentage. The home runs haven't squeaked over the fence, either. Most of Howard's longballs have been crushed in the direction of center field.

The Phillies have sent Nats centerfielder Denard Span backpedaling often through the series' first two games. Franco's homer was also in that vicinity. Franco has seven RBIs in nine games since being called up from Triple A.

In the field
The Nats' defense is a major weakness. They are not sound defensively at either middle infield spot, and Ryan Zimmerman is inexperienced at first base with a shaky throwing arm.

Zimmerman and Bryce Harper each made throwing errors. Ian Desmond's NL-leading 12th error led to a run, and catcher Wilson Ramos was charged with an error on the same play when he failed to field a throw from left field.

If the Nationals want to win the division and go deep into October, the defense needs to improve. If it doesn't, it won't matter how many homers Harper hits or how many strikeouts the pitching staff accumulates.

On the bases
Cesar Hernandez appeared to have an RBI double in the sixth inning but missed the first-base bag. Once the ball was collected and the play was over, the Nats appealed and threw over to first to retire Hernandez. It went down as a 6-3 putout that scored Ben Revere from first.

Hamels was thrown out at home by Michael Taylor in the fourth inning.

Up next
The Memorial Day weekend series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m.

Aaron Harang (4-3, 1.82) takes on Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez (3-2, 4.94).

Gonzalez has allowed 11 runs in 10 innings in his last two starts. He lost to the Phillies on April 10, when he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings and walked a season-high four batters.

Utley and Howard have never hit the Nats' southpaw. Utley is 3 for 20 lifetime, while Howard is 0 for 11 with six strikeouts.

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