Redding, Relievers Combine for One-Hitter

Philadelphia, PA--Tim Redding threw seven innings of one-hit baseball, Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch were perfect in their one inning each, and Ryan Zimmerman homered for the second time in three games as the Washington Nationals shut-out the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 at Citizen's Bank Park this evening.

On a chilly, breezy night in the City of Brotherly Love Redding pitched a gem, holding the Phillies potent line-up to one hit and three walks, while striking out two, including Phils' clean-up hitter Ryan Howard. Redding threw 93 pitches--54 for strikes--but it was enough to keep the Phillies off balance all evening. Ayala and Rauch each faced three batters without incident, Rauch earning the save in his second appearance of the season.

Cole Hamels was the hard-luck loser, pitching eight strong innings of his own. He gave up five hits and two walks, striking out six. But the big hit was Ryan Zimmerman's solo home run into the right field corner in the sixth inning, which proved to be all the offense the Nats needed this night. Zimmerman added another single, and Cristian Guzman went two-for four in the lead-off spot. Willie Harris and Redding had the other two hits.

The Nationals are 3-0 for the first time since 2003 when the franchise was still in Montreal. The Phillies fall to 0-2. The two teams face each other Thursday afternoon in Philly, with Jason Bergmann facing Jamie Moyer at 1:05 pm.

NATS NOTES: Redding retired 14 batters at one point. GM Jim Bowden said there's no timetable for outfielder Elijah Dukes' return from the disabled list. The team is considering using Felipe Lopez in left field in an effort to get him some playing time. The team is also considering starting John Lannan over the weekend instead of going with a four-man rotation if Shawn Hill isn't ready to come off the disabled list.

Redding, Relievers Combine for One-Hitter also posted at DC Sports Box

Photo (c) Cheryl Nichols 2008.