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Esteban Loaiza tries to continue his April dominance, as the Washington Nationals play the rubber match of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon from Citizens Bank Park. Washington secured its first win as the moniker of the Nationals last night, as Jose Guillen belted a two-run homer in the deciding eighth inning and Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle in a 7-3 final. Washington has 29 hits through the first two games of the series. All eight Nationals starting position players recorded at least one hit, and eight of Washington�s 16 hits went for extra bases. Wilkerson capped his second career cycle with a ground-rule double in the eighth inning. Wilkerson's cycle was the seventh in franchise history. He also became the 26th player in baseball history to record more than one cycle, and the first since John Olerud notched his second cycle on June 16, 2001. After Pat Burrell's two-run blast in the sixth gave the Phillies a one-run advantage, Guillen's first homer of the season in the eighth inning opened the floodgates. The Nationals scored four runs in the frame. Vinny Castilla finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI for Washington, which celebrated its first win since the Senators left the nation's capital following the 1971 season. Wilkerson was 4-for-4 with a walk and drove in two runs. Loaiza, signed as a free agent in January, is 18-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 38 career April contests. Loaiza has eclipsed the 180-inning plateau four times in the last five seasons. The 33-year-old righthander split last season between the White Sox and Yankees and went 10-7 with a 5.70 ERA in 31 games (27 starts). He returns to the NL for first time since posing 27 wins in parts of four seasons (1995-98) with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1995-98). Loaiza is 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in seven career games (6 starts) versus the Phillies. Randy Wolf will be on the hill this afternoon for the Phillies. The lefthander was limited to 23 starts last season due to elbow and foot problems, as he went 5-8 with a 4.28 ERA. Wolf's had success in his career against the Nationals franchise with an 8-4 lifetime mark, including 2-0 last season. Philadelphia won 12 of the 19 meetings between the clubs last year, including seven of 10 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are 16-5 at home versus the Nationals franchise since the start of 2003.
Esteban Loaiza tries to continue his April dominance, as the Washington Nationals play the rubber match of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon from Citizens Bank Park. Washington secured its first win as the moniker of the Nationals last night, as Jose Guillen belted a two-run homer in the deciding eighth inning and Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle in a 7-3 final. Washington has 29 hits through the first two games of the series. All eight Nationals starting position players recorded at least one hit, and eight of Washington�s 16 hits went for extra bases. Wilkerson capped his second career cycle with a ground-rule double in the eighth inning. Wilkerson's cycle was the seventh in franchise history. He also became the 26th player in baseball history to record more than one cycle, and the first since John Olerud notched his second cycle on June 16, 2001. After Pat Burrell's two-run blast in the sixth gave the Phillies a one-run advantage, Guillen's first homer of the season in the eighth inning opened the floodgates. The Nationals scored four runs in the frame. Vinny Castilla finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI for Washington, which celebrated its first win since the Senators left the nation's capital following the 1971 season. Wilkerson was 4-for-4 with a walk and drove in two runs. Loaiza, signed as a free agent in January, is 18-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 38 career April contests. Loaiza has eclipsed the 180-inning plateau four times in the last five seasons. The 33-year-old righthander split last season between the White Sox and Yankees and went 10-7 with a 5.70 ERA in 31 games (27 starts). He returns to the NL for first time since posing 27 wins in parts of four seasons (1995-98) with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1995-98). Loaiza is 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in seven career games (6 starts) versus the Phillies. Randy Wolf will be on the hill this afternoon for the Phillies. The lefthander was limited to 23 starts last season due to elbow and foot problems, as he went 5-8 with a 4.28 ERA. Wolf's had success in his career against the Nationals franchise with an 8-4 lifetime mark, including 2-0 last season. Philadelphia won 12 of the 19 meetings between the clubs last year, including seven of 10 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are 16-5 at home versus the Nationals franchise since the start of 2003.
