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Watch Baseball Philadelphia Phillies Vs Washington Nationals Online
Despite a second straight World Series appearance, Cole Hamels was at least one Phillie who wanted to put 2009 behind him as quick as possible.
The left-hander hopes to have a bounce-back campaign in 2010 and he begins that quest tonight versus the Washington Nationals in the second contest of a three-game series in the nation’s capital.
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Hamels had a coming out party in 2008, going 4-0 with a 1.80 earned run average in five postseason starts, helping Philadelphia capture its first championship since 1980 while also capturing World Series MVP honors.
The 26-year-old took a step back in 2009 however, going 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA in 32 regular-season starts and was 1-2 with a 7.58 ERA in four playoff starts. He gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings in his lone World Series outing versus the Yankees, who bested the Phils in six games in the Fall Classic.
Hamels didn’t exactly raise expectations in the spring either, going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in six starts. However, he is 7-3 with a 2.30 ERA in 15 career starts versus tonight’s opponent.
Philadelphia is counting on Hamels to form a 1-2 punch with new ace Roy Halladay, a gamble the club felt safe taking when it shipped Cliff Lee, last year’s postseason hero, to Seattle for prospects this past offseason.
Halladay did his part on Monday, as he shook off allowing a first-inning run on the way to an excellent outing in the Phillies’ 11-1 victory over the Nationals. Halladay (1-0) lasted seven innings, giving up just the one run on six hits with nine strikeouts to go along with a run batted in.
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“It’s a nice feeling to go out and know that if you give up a run in the first you still have a good chance to win the game,” Halladay said. “That’s how I felt. Just minimize it…and just get back in the dugout as soon as possible.”
Placido Polanco, signed by the Phillies this past offseason, went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and six RBI in all, while Ryan Howard also hit a homer for a Philadelphia club who had lost each of its last four games on Opening Day.
Polanco is 0-for-10 in his career versus Jason Marquis, who is slated to make his Nationals debut this evening after signing a two-year, $15 million deal this past offseason.
The right-hander will pitch for his fifth different team and had won double- digit games in each of his last six seasons. That includes last season, when Marquis went 15-13 with a 4.04 ERA in 33 starts with the Rockies and made the All-Star team.
Marquis, 31, is 5-3 with a save and 4.38 ERA in 19 games (12 starts) lifetime versus the Phillies, winning his lone start against them last year with seven innings of two-run ball.
Marquis follows John Lannan, who was tagged for five fourth-inning runs and seven hits over 3 2/3 innings of Monday’s loss. Lannan (0-1) began that ill- fated inning with a walk to Chase Utley before Howard took him deep to open the flood gates.
“The leadoff walk to Utley and the breaking ball to Howard really set things off,” Lannan said. “The Phillies are a tough team to stop once they get the momentum.”
Ryan Zimmerman, who caught President Barack Obama’s ceremonial first pitch, knocked in the only run for Washington, while Ivan Rodriguez had three of the Nats’ nine hits in his debut with the club. Still, the club fell to 1-5 on Opening Day since moving to D.C.
Philadelphia dominated Washington last season to the tune of a 15-3 record, with a 7-2 ledger at Nationals Park. The Phillies have won four straight and 13 of the last 14 matchups overall between the clubs.
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