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Nationals blank slumping Phillies

May 20, 2008 - 4:34 AM By Ben Standig PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies are struggling to drive in runs and they started a road trip against a pitcher who earlier this year showed he had their number.

On Monday night, both trends continued.

Tim Redding continued his mastery of the Phillies this season with 6 1/3 shutout innings and Lastings Milledge hit a pair of doubles and drove in two runs as the Washington Nationals defeated the Phillies, 4-0, on Monday night.

Redding was effective for the Nationals (20-26) in locking down the potent Phillies (24-22) lineup for the second time this season, allowing seven hits and got out of some early inning jams.

"By no means do I think it was a quality effort as far as making good pitches, but the results were there," said Redding, who on the heels of a seven inning, one-hit victory against the Phillies on April 2, Redding (6-3) has held the Phillies scoreless in 13 1/3 innings this season.

The Phillies had their chances but were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base

"You have to credit to (Redding)," said Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell, who was 0-4. "He's been pitching pretty well as of late. He's changing speeds, locating, all the important things. But we are to good of an offensive team to not be scoring runs like we are.

The Nationals bullpen did the rest as Saul Rivera replaced Redding with two runners on in the seventh and retired Shane Victorino and Chase Utley to end the threat. Luis Ayala pitched a perfect eighth and Joel Hanrahan followed with a 1-2-3 ninth as the

Nationals won their second straight game and the 3,000th in Nationals/Expos franchise history.

The lineup backed Redding up with 10 hits, including six doubles, as they took advantage of scoring opportunities early on. Christian Guzman's daring run home in the first inning on a shallow sacrifice fly from Dmitri Young gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

In the third Felipe Lopez led off with a double and went to third on a Guzman single. After Ryan Zimmerman walked to load the bases, Milledge hit a double off of Brett Myers (2-5) down the right field line, scoring Lopez and Guzman.

"I needed it more for the team," said Milledge, who had only one extra-base hit in his previous 13 games, but leads the Nationals with 12 hits with runners in scoring position. "I know that I'll hit eventually and I'll come out of that funk that I've been in, but the team's always first. I need it for the team."

Guzman, who had three hits, scored his third run of the night in the seventh, coming home on a double play groundout.

Myers, who entered the game with a 0-3 road record and a brutal 8.18 ERA, went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits. The righthander, who walked three and struck out two, could not halt the Phillies' slide which is now at three straight losses and seven of their last 11 games.

"Its my job to go out there and match what the other pitcher did and I didn't do that tonight," said Myers, who has not picked up a win since April 17 and is 0-4 in his last six starts. "We had (Redding) on the ropes a couple of times. They had me on the ropes, but they were able to capitalize with a ball over first base. We just weren't able to muster anything up."

Though limping in the clubhouse following the game after a Rob Mackowiak line drive hit him in the left leg, Myers said he would make his next start.

The Phillies offense did not help him out, coming up empty with their own scoring chances in the first and third innings and both times with the middle of order coming to the plate.

In the top of the first inning, after consecutive one-out singles by Victorino and Utley, Redding fell behind 3-0 to Ryan Howard. But Howard leads the National League in strikeouts, and did just that.

Pat Burrell followed and ripped a shot down the third baseline, but Zimmerman's snared the grounder with a backhand lunge and threw him out.

It was deja-vu all over again in the third as Victorino and Utley again came up with one-out singles. This time Howard connected and took Redding deep to left, but the ball landed harmlessly on the warning track.

Burrell also took Redding deep to left, but also for an out, leaving runners on base and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to lament about his squad's troubles in those key at-bats.

"I don't know if we are waiting on something to happen but we don't look tense at the plate," said Manuel. "If we need to bare down we're going to bare down. We got to get it done. That's what this game is about, getting it done."