Strasburg Finally Gets Run Support As Nationals Beat Phillies 6-1

Stephen Strasburg looked to be having another great outing with no run support on Sunday afternoon, but the Nationals turned things around and broke out in the seventh inning to beat the Phillies 6-1. Strasburg pitched eight solid innings while giving up one run off five hits.

The 24-year-old struck out nine in the game as he won for only the third time in his first 11 starts. Even with a 3-5 record, Strasburg has been great to start the year and he now sports a 2.49 earned run average, much lower than his 3.16 ERA in 2012 when he finished 15-6 in 28 starts.

The struggling Cole Hamels took the mound for the Phillies and he was great through the first six innings. Back-to-back singles, an intentional walk, and a throwing error quickly erased his great outing as the Nationals broke it open.

After a throwing error by Michael Young that allowed two runs to cross the plate, Steve Lombardozzi drove in two more with a double to right field. Hamels was then relieved by Justin De Fratus with only one out in the seventh.

Lombardozzi would score later in the inning on a double by Denard Span to make it 5-0 Nationals going into the eighth inning. The Phillies’ only run would come in the eighth as Strasburg balked for the first time in his career.

He quickly made work of Jimmy Rollins after the balk, ending his night as Tyler Clippard came in to close out the Phillies in the ninth. Clippard shut down the Phillies in order to give the Nationals their first series win since beating the Detroit Tigers nearly three weeks ago.

Cole Hamels is now 1-8 on the season and he’s also lost five straight starts. To make matters worse, the Phillies have only scored 20 runs during Hamels’ 68.3 innings pitched this year and the team’s pitching staff is only getting weaker.

Roy Halladay will be out for some time after being placed on the 60-day DL earlier this month, and with Hamels struggling to win ball games, manager Charlie Manuel is left with an average rotation.

Do you think the Phillies pitching struggles are the reason behind their fall in the NL Central?

[Image via Cathy T]