PHILADELPHIA -- Seeing Jayson Werth quiet a hostile crowd pleased Bryce Harper more than his own latest accomplishment. Ray Lewis Womens Jersey . Harper hit his 20th homer, Ian Desmond and Kurt Suzuki also connected and the Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 Wednesday night to move closer toward winning their first division title since moving to Washington. The Nationals reduced their magic number in the NL East to four, holding a four-game lead over Atlanta with seven remaining. The 19-year-old Harper joined Tony Conigliaro as the only teenagers to reach 20 homers in big league history. "That doesnt mean very much to me," Harper said. Harper was more excited about Werths in-your-face two-run single in the ninth that extended Washingtons lead to 7-4. Werth, jeered in Philadelphia since leaving the Phillies in free agency after the 2010 season, drew loud boos in the on-deck circle after he picked up a foul ball and faked tossing it into the stands. The boos grew louder when Werth came up to the plate. Rookie pitcher Justin De Fratus then earned cheers for throwing a fastball high and tight to Werth, who got an earful throughout his at-bat. Werth got the last laugh with his hit up the middle. Harper added an RBI triple. "It gave me a chill after the fans were going crazy with all that booing," Harper said. "That was huge. Hes been doing that all year for us." John Lannan (4-0) gave up two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings to win his second start since taking Stephen Strasburgs spot in the rotation. Strasburg, the All-Star righty, was shut down after reaching his innings limit. The Phillies, who closed to within three games of St. Louis for the NLs second wild-card spot following a late push, are on the verge of elimination. The five-time defending NL East champions are 5 1/2 games behind the Cardinals with seven left. "Weve been pushing real hard and its catching up to us," manager Charlie Manuel said. Kyle Kendrick (10-12) got roughed up, allowing five runs and five hits in two-plus innings. Jimmy Rollins hit a solo homer, snapping an 0-for-19 slump. But the Phillies couldnt overcome a 5-0 deficit. Kendrick walked Werth on five pitches to start the game and Harper drove the first pitch he saw 411 feet to deep left-centre for a 2-0 lead. Harper matched the feat of Conigliaro, who hit 24 home runs for the Boston Red Sox in 1964. "Thats nothing new to me," Nats manager Davey Johnson said about Harper. "I saw him hit a 500-foot homer when he was 14 years old. The thing is he thinks he should be hitting .400." Desmond connected leading off the second, hitting his 25th homer way out to left-centre to make it 3-0. Steve Lombardozzi then reached on second baseman Chase Utleys fielding error and Suzuki followed with a shot out to left to put the Nationals up 5-0. Kevin Frandsen hit a one-out double in the third to get the Phillies going. He scored when Suzuki threw wild to third on reliever B.J. Rosenbergs sacrifice. Lannan then pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by striking out Ryan Howard and retiring Carlos Ruiz on a grounder to the mound. "Any time you can come in here and get a win, its very satisfying," said Lannan, who improved to 3-12 against the Phillies. Frandsen hit a two-out triple in the fourth and scored on Rosenbergs single up the middle in his first official at-bat in the majors. Rollins hit his team-leading 23rd homer off Ryan Mattheus in the seventh. Domonic Browns sacrifice fly off former closer Tyler Clippard cut it to 5-4 in the eighth. Clippard fanned Frandsen to leave the tying run on third. NOTES: Roy Halladay felt fine after a bullpen session and will start on Friday for the Phillies. There was a possibility Halladay would be shut down after experiencing spasms near his shoulder blade last week. ... Nationals are 14-4 when Harper goes deep. ... Desmond is 9 for 20 off Kendrick. ... Ruiz received the Mike Schmidt MVP Award given annually by the Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Cole Hamels got the Steve Carlton MVP pitcher Award, Rollins received the Dallas Green Special Achievement Award and Juan Pierre got the Tug McGraw True Pro Award. ... Gio Gonzalez (20-8) tries to strengthen his bid for the NL Cy Young Award in the series finale against Philadelphia rookie Tyler Cloyd (2-1). Haloti Ngata Elite Jersey .Y. -- Grace Park, who won one major among her six victories on the LPGA Tour, announced her retirement Friday at the LPGA Championship. Ray Rice Super Bowl Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson described free agent quarterback Vince Young as looking in great shape during his workout for the team on Wednesday. http://www.theravensfootballstore.com/joe-flacco-super-bowl-jersey/ . The quarterback is hoping his career avoids the same fate. Smith is trying to break back into the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who signed him in the off-season as an insurance policy during organized team activities and training camp. Joe Flacco Elite Jersey . Catch all the action live on TSN2 starting at 9pm et/6pm pt. The game is also available TSN Mobile TV. The Stampeders will be looking to exact a measure of revenge against their provincial rivals after the Eskimos eliminated the Stamps in last years West semifinal. Justin Tucker Pink Jersey . McMaster was put at the top of the CIS rankings for the sixth consecutive week on Tuesday by the Football Reporters of Canada.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira had a cortisone injection in his left wrist, a day after hurting it while trying to make a diving stop at first base. The Yankees said an MRI on Tuesday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital showed no structural damage. Doctors diagnosed Teixeira with inflammation, and the team said Teixeira will be evaluated again on Friday. Maake Kemoeatu Jersey. . Teixeira was lifted after the seventh inning of the Yankees 5-4 loss to Baltimore on Monday night, their eighth defeat in 11 games. He said he hurt the wrist in his third at-bat against Boston on Sunday. Still, he felt as if he could play before he tweaked the injury in the field. ' ' ' |
