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Nationals outlast floundering Phillies

Apr 19, 2007 - 5:57 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Felipe Lopez came through when the Washington Nationals needed him to.

Lopez drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to left field in the 13th inning to lead the Nationals to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Lopez lifted a fly ball to left field off of Francisco Rosario that was just deep enough to bring home Chris Snelling and end a 4-hour, 16-minute marathon.

"We never gave up. We just stayed patient and focused at the plate," Snelling said. "Hats off to Resto (Restovich). He came through in the clutch. He's the man of the hour."

The game must have seemed even longer for Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

The big hitters in the Philadelphia lineup, Rollins, Utley and Howard combined to go 0-for-16. Rollins was 0-for-6 while Utley and Howard were each hitless in five at-bats with each drawing a walk.

"It's frustrating right now. We didn't do our job out there tonight. That's the bottom line," Rollins said. "Right now it seems like we're getting up to the plate and rushing things. Hopefully we'll turn it around (Thursday)."

Thanks to the ineptitude of their main weapons, the Phillies were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. They had a runner on third in the ninth and 10th innings and on second in the 11th but failed to bring home the go-ahead run each time.

We had our chance once we came back. We just didn't get the big hit tonight," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We're starting to get anxious at the plate. We're not taking pitches and working the count to our advantage, instead we're swinging at the first pitch. I thought we definitely had a chance, we just couldn't get the big hit."

Levale Speigner (1-0), the eighth pitcher used by the Nationals, picked up his first major league victory with a perfect 13th.

Rosario (0-1) allowed a single by Snelling, a double to Michael Restovich and then Lopez's game-winning sacrifice.

"It was a long game. We just wanted to get on base," Restovich said. "When your in long games, people try to end the game by hitting a home run. We just stayed patient and put up some good at bats and got some big hits. Felipe came through with the sac to make a great ending to a long night."