Instant Replay: Nationals 6, Phillies 1

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WASHINGTON -- The Phillies were expecting to face Stephen Strasburg when they got to the ballpark on Friday afternoon and it’s a good thing they didn’t.

A late scratch with forearm soreness, Strasburg was replaced by right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who scratched out five innings to hold off the Phillies in a 6-1 victory.

The Phillies got off to a good start, scoring a run with one out in the first. However, struggling righty Kyle Kendrick served up plenty of hittable pitches in his 4 1/3 innings as the Nats rolled to their seventh win in a row.

The loss drops the Phillies to 68-79.

Starting pitching report
Kendrick flirted with trouble throughout his 4 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs -- two came after he left the game -- on eight hits and a pair of walks. Kendrick allowed at least one hit in each inning and escaped the fourth with his lone goose egg of the night.

At 10-13 and with a 4.70 ERA, Kendrick leads the National League in hits allowed with 207. In his last nine starts covering all of August and September, Kendrick is 1-6 with a 6.90 ERA and has allowed 64 hits in 45 2/3 innings.

Nats’ emergency starter Ohlendorf allowed a run in five innings on five hits and three walks. The righty was in trouble in the first inning by surrendering hits to three of the first four hitters he faced. But from there Ohlendorf retired the next nine in a row and 11 of 13 leading into the fifth inning.

Bullpen report
A night after the Phils’ ‘pen tossed 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, it turned in 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball Friday night. Cesar Jimenez, Luis Garcia, Zach Miner and Joe Savery shut down the Nats in relief of Kendrick. However, Garcia allowed two inherited runners to score when Wilson Ramos hit a bases-loaded single off the pitcher’s foot.

At the plate
Carlos Ruiz went 2 for 4 and knocked in the Phillies’ only run. But he also was thrown out at second by leftfielder Bryce Harper while trying to leg out a hard-hit ball off the fence. Harper also got an assist when Freddy Galvis doubled and was called out when he slipped off the bag.

Otherwise, the Phillies’ offense was fairly quiet against Ohlendorf and a stream of relievers. At least they didn’t have to face Strasburg.

For the Nats, Ryan Zimmerman went 3 for 5 with a leadoff homer in the third. Ramos also hit a leadoff homer in the second to go with his two-run single off Garcia’s foot.

Up next
The series continues on Saturday night with a pair of lefties squaring off. Cole Hamels (7-13, 3.45) faces Gio Gonzalez (10-6, 3.31) in a battle of former Phillies’ prospects. Hamels is 1-1 with a 2.11 ERA in three starts against the Nats this season and 14-6 with a 2.52 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings against Washington in 27 career starts.

Gonzalez is 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA in seven career starts against the Phillies.

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