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Nationals 4-2 over the Phillies to sweep the three-game set in D.C.

The Washington Nationals took the third game of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, sweeping their first three-game set since the second week of the season. Doug Fister was dominant on the mound in the series finale in Nationals Park.

By Patrick Reddington

Series Finale with the Phillies:

5. Quick Recap: The Philadelphia Phillies bunted a runner over with no one out in the first and got the one run they were playing for when Chase Utley singled to center off Washington Nationals' starter Doug Fister to drive Ben Revere in from second base for an early 1-0 advantage in the series finale in the nation's capital.

Philly righty Kyle Kendrick gave the lead up quickly, however, when Anthony Rendon singled with one down in the bottom of the inning then scored from second when Ryan Zimmerman sent a first-pitch fastball through the left side of the infield, improving to 16 for 45 in his career vs Kendrick with the RBI hit that tied things up at 1-1.

Nats' leadoff man Denard Span doubled off the Curly-W wall in right field, took third base on a fly to right by Anthony Rendon and scored on a Jayson Werth RBI single to center in the top of the fifth and Adam LaRoche followed with a two-run home run to right that gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead.

John Mayberry, Jr. cut into the Nationals' lead with a solo home run to left on a 2-1 fastball from Fister in the top of the seventh. Mayberry's 4th made it 4-2 Nationals.

That's how it ended. WIth a Nationals sweep... 4-2 final.

4. Fister's Pace: Washington Nationals' skipper Matt Williams told reporters in the nation's capital, after Doug Fister's six-inning outing against the Texas Rangers last time out, that the somewhat frenetic pace at which the 30-year-old right-hander works on the mound helps to keep teammates on their toes and in the game.

"They expect the ball to be put in play," Williams explained in talking about Fister's pacing. "He throws strikes with all of his pitches. The radar gun doesn't light up, but he puts it where he wants to, he's got a good game plan going out there. He's an athlete, so he can do a lot of things on the baseball diamond to help himself too, so all of that is really good for us."

"He grabs the ball and goes and you don't have time to stand defensively," Williams continued.

"You're on your toes because you expect the ball to be put in play and it's happening so quickly."

With the win over the Rangers, Fister improved to (3-1) in five starts for the Nationals with a 3.34 ERA, a 4.01 FIP, two walks (0.61 BB/9) and 23 Ks (6.98 K/9) in 29 2/3 IP, over which he's held opposing hitters to a .256/.273/.427 line.

Fister faced the Phillies for the second time in his six-year career this afternoon. His first outing against the Nationals' NL East rivals took place last season before the trade brought him to Washington from Detroit. At home in Comerica Park with the Tigers, Fister gave up one earned run in eight innings of work against the Phillies in which he allowed just three hits, a walk and one earned run.

This afternoon in the nation's capital... Fister gave up a leadoff double in the first at bat of the game...

1st: Ben Revere hit an 88 mph 1-2 fastball to left to start the series finale in D.C., then moved up to third when Jimmy Rollins bunted him over/gave up an out. Chase Utley took a 1-2 cutter back up the middle in the next at bat and the Phillies took a 1-0 lead early. John Mayberry, Jr. grounded into a force to end a 16-pitch opening frame.

2nd: Domonic Brown grounded out to second. Wil Nieves lined out to short. Reid Brignac K'd swinging through a 2-2 cutter and Doug Fister was through two innings in D.C. on 25 pitches after a nine-pitch second.

3rd: Kyle Kendrick K'd swinging at a 2-2 fastball. Doug Fister made a twirling play on the mound to field a grounder off Ben Revere's bat for out no.2. Jimmy Rollins stepped in with two down and lined a two-out double to left field that landed just fair halfway down the line. Fister missed with a 2-2 fastball up high, so he went to his curve to get Chase Utley swinging for out no.3 of a 19-pitch inning that left him at 44 total after three. 3 Ks.

4th: Ryan Howard was strikeout victim no.4 for Doug Fister after the Phillies' slugger went down swinging at a 2-2 bender. John Mayberry, Jr. grounded sharply to third for out no.2. Domonic Brown stepped up with two down and rolled out to Anthony Rendon at second to end a quick, 12-pitch inning. 56 pitches total for Fister after four. Four Ks and seven ground ball outs.

5th: Wil Nieves popped out to short right where Jayson Werth charged in to make the grab. Reid Brignac fell behind 0-2 and took a two-seam fastball for a called strike three and K no.5. Kyle Kendrick worked the count full and popped to short right where Werth made a sliding catch this time. 12-pitch inning for Fister, 68 overall.

6th: Ben Revere tried to bunt for a hit, but just sent a weak roller toward first that Fister was all over. Jimmy Rollins flew out to the right field corner where Jayson Werth caught out no.2. Chase Utley took a 1-2 pitch on his front foot to get on the hard way, but Ryan Howard grounded into the shift to end another scoreless inning for Fister, who was up to 82 pitches after a 14-pitch frame.

7th: John Mayberry, Jr. hit his second home run in two days out to left on an 87 mph 2-1 fastball that landed in the left field bullpen. 4-2 Nationals. Domonic Brown sent groundout no.10 to second for the first out of the Phillies' seventh. Wil Nieves hit groundout no.11 to second as well. Reid Brignac's fly to left ended an 11-pitch inning after which Fister was up to 93 pitches.

• Doug Fister's Line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks, 93 P, 63 S, 11/4 GO/FO.

3. Nats vs Kendrick: The Nationals missed Kyle Kendrick in the first series of the season, which took place in Citizens Bank Park, but they're plenty familiar with the Phillies' 29-year-old right-hander.

In five starts against Philadelphia's '03 7th Round pick in 2013, the Nats roughed Kendrick up.

Kendrick was (1-3) in those starts, with a 5.40 ERA, 10 walks (3.18 BB/9) and 15 Ks (4.76 K/9) in 28 1/3 IP, over which Nationals' hitters put up a combined .293/.344/.388 line. In his eight-year career, the Houston, Texas-born starter has faced the Nats 24 times, 22 times as a starter, posting a 4.85 ERA against the Nationals, with 37 walks (2.76 BB/9) and 62 Ks (4.62 K/9) in 120 2/3 IP before this afternoon, in which the Nats have put up a .280/.340/.439 line.

Kendrick took the mound in Nationals Park this afternoon with a 1-0 lead courtesy of an RBI single to center field by Chase Utley, but promptly gave a run back, giving up a one-out single to short by Anthony Rendon and a two-out RBI single to left by Ryan Zimmerman before completing a 19-pitch opening frame.

A HBP on Anthony Rendon and a walk to Jayson Werth with no one out in the home-half of the third looked like the start of something for the Nationals, but Kendrick got opposite field line drive outs from Adam LaRoche and Zimmerman for the first two outs of the frame and a groundout to second from Kevin Frandsen to end an 18-pitch inning that left him at 49 total after three in D.C. 1-1.

Denard Span extended his hit streak to seven games with a leadoff double to right that bounced off the Curly-W wall. Span's 16th double of the season left him 1 for 3 today and 14 for 32 over the last seven (.438 AVG). One out later, an RBI single to center by Jayson Werth brought Span in to make it 2-1 Nationals over Kendrick and the Phils and then Adam LaRoche hit a 2-2 sinker into the right field bullpen to make a three-run lead after five in D.C. 4-1 Nationals. Kendrick was up to 76 pitches after a 20-pitch fifth.

• Kendrick's Line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 Ks, 1 HR, 103 P, 64 S, 10/4 GO/FO.

2. Draft Day Quote: Matt Williams was a 1st Round pick in 1986, taken 3rd overall by the San Francisco Giants. He made his MLB debut a year later and went on to play seventeen seasons in the majors. Here's what Williams had to say about the prospects who will live out their dream of being drafted tonight:

"They're going to be excited for a while, really excited. It's special for them. Since the time they were six years old, this was their dream. They finally get to fulfill part of it. Regardless of where in the process you're drafted, you get a chance to fulfill that. And then they're going to start the next part, try to make it to the big leagues and be a big league player for a long time."

1. The Wrap-Up: Tyler Clippard took over for the Nationals in the eighth and struck out two in a 11-pitch, 9-strike, 1-2-3 inning.

Pitch it, Soriano! Pitch it, Soriano! Strike'em out, Soriano! Strike'em out, Soriano!! Rafael Soriano came on in the ninth looking for save no.12 of 2014. Chase Utley grounded out to second. Ryan Howard went down swinging at a 2-2 slider. John Mayberry, Jr. worked the count full and K'd swinging through a high heater. Ballgame.

Work's done! Untuck that jersey, son!!

Nationals now 30-28

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