• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nationals keep rolling, top Phillies

Sep 2, 2008 - 12:27 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Tim Redding pitched five hitless innings and Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer to lead the Washington Nationals to their seventh consecutive victory with a 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday afternoon.

Redding (10-8) held the Phillies in check for five innings as the Nationals built a 6-0 lead. The righthander posted his career-high matching 10th victory and became the first Nationals pitcher to record double-digit victories since Ramon Ortiz in 2006.

The Nationals' seven-game winning streak is the franchise's second-longest since it returned to Washington in 2005. That season, the Nationals won 10 in a row from June 2-12.

"The team's playing unbelievable right now. It's fun," Redding said. "We come to the field and we know we have a great chance of winning, and we have all aspects of our game clicking at the same time."

Lastings Milledge drove in a pair of runs with a double in the first inning and the Nationals put together a four-run fourth inning to improve to 7-0 on their current nine-game homestand.

With Washington leading 2-0, the Nationals battered Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (11-8) for four runs and five hits in the fourth. After consecutive singles by Jesus Flores and Emilio Bonifacio, Kendrick got Redding to ground into a fielder's choice and Bonifacio was caught stealing. Willie Harris drove home Redding with a triple off the right-field wall, Cristian Guzman hit an RBI double and came around to score on Zimmerman's 10th homer of the season.

It was only Zimmerman's second home run since May 18.

"It took me a little while to get back into the groove of the game and feeling the way I always feel, but I'm feeling pretty good right now," said Zimmerman, who has hit safely in his last seven games. "We're going through one of those good times now. We've got to keep doing that for the rest of the month and it'll be a fun last three or four weeks."

"That's what we've been missing the whole season," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "Now guys are swinging the bats throughout the whole lineup, and it helps. Everyone around here becomes a little bit smarter with seven runs and 12 hits."

Kendrick allowed six earned runs and eight hits, walking three and striking out one.

"I got two outs there in the fourth and ended up giving up four runs," Kendrick said. "I just couldn't get that last out and it was frustrating. I just couldn't get in a flow and that fourth inning kind of hurt me. I just couldn't get that last out.

Redding did not allow a hit until Shane Victorino reached on an infield single with one out in the sixth. One out later, Ryan Howard's double down the right-field line scored Victorino. Redding, who allowed three runs and two hits with three walks and two strikeouts, left the game after issuing a walk to Jayson Werth.

"I was beat after about the fourth inning," Redding said. "Just didn't feel like I had my best stuff. I was fortunate to make good pitches when I needed to. The breaking balls that I threw, the changeups and stuff, were all executed at the time I needed them."

Charlie Manning walked Pedro Feliz to load the bases and righthander Marco Estrada forced in a pair of runs with a walk to Pat Burrell and a hit by pitch to Chris Coste, pulling the Phillies within 6-3.

But that was as close as Philadelphia would get as Redding improved to 5-3 in his career against the Phillies.

"He always pitches good against us," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He mixes his pitches good. It seemed like when he got through the first inning there, it helped him to settle in and he got more confident. Then we kind of fell behind. He had 90 pitches and we didn't have a hit.

"He was hitting his spots and making good pitches," said Ryan Howard, who went 1-for-4 with a double. "He was switching up."

The Nationals added a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Flores.

Rollins hit his 10th homer of the season in the ninth for the Phillies, who fell two games behind the New York Mets in the National League East. New York (77-61) defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2, on Monday.