Jordan Zimmerman went six strong innings and Jayson Werth‘s home run and three RBI was enough for the Nationals to finish a sweep of the Marlins with a 6-1 victory. Widely considered the best and worst NL teams respectively headed into this season, the series was no surprise as the Nationals outscored the Marlins, 11-1, in the series. Miami’s only run came on a Justin Ruggiano long ball.
Philadelphia 2 – Atlanta 0 – Cliff Lee righted the ship for the Phillies, throwing eight shutout innings and striking out eight while surrendering just two hits. The lefty won his first start of the year after having to wait until July fourth last season. Meanwhile, the Braves lost for the first time in 24 Kris Medlen starts. Ben Revere and Chase Utley combined for productive RBI outs to provide all the scoring Lee would need and Papelbon nailed down the shutout in the ninth. BJ Upton leads the Braves in whiffs, striking out for the seventh time on Thursday.
Chicago 3 – Pittsburgh 2– Travis Wood delivered a one hitter in six innings and exited with a 1-0 lead. He may have had a hard luck no-decision if not for Nate Schierholtz, who added a two-run insurance blast in the ninth. The Cubs were barely able to hang on when Carlos Marmol nearly imploded, yielding three hits, a walk and two runs in the bottom of the ninth before securing his first save of the year thanks to a Neil Walker double play grounder. Despite the “success”, Marmol is still on the hot seat and the Pirates wasted a dominant effort by Jason McDonald, who lasted seven innings and gave up just two hits and one run, good enough for a loss.
Interleague:
Cincinnati 5 – Los Angeles 4 – The Reds won the first interleague series of the season, setting the stage when Shin Shoo Choo homered on the first pitch of the game from Angels’ pitcher, Joe Blanton. Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey, who is filling in for the injured Ryan Ludwick, also went yard during the victory. Mike Trout and Erick Aybar combined for five hits at the top of the Angels’ order, but Bronson Arroyo spread out eight hits and walked just one with five strikeouts in six innings of work. Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols drove in all four runs for Los Angeles, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Aroldis Chapman from nailing down his first save of the year.
