Washington needed a pitcher to carry the game. Foster Griffin obliged. The right-hander held Philadelphia to 1 run on 4 hits over 7.1 innings, striking out 9 without issuing a walk, as the Nationals defeated the Phillies 4-1 on Monday at Nationals Park.
Griffin threw 105 pitches and was in command throughout. His only blemish came in the seventh inning, when Brandon Marsh homered to right (376 feet) to cut the deficit to one. Griffin departed with two outs in the seventh, having done more than enough. Clayton Beeter closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his sixth save of the season, carrying a 3.47 ERA.
Washington scored in each of the first two innings and never trailed. In the first, Dylan Crews singled to left and Wood scored to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. An inning later, Luis Garcia homered to right center (427 feet) to make it 2-0. The Phillies pulled within one in the seventh on Marsh's solo shot, but Washington answered immediately. Curtis Mead homered to left (390 feet) in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Wood ahead of him, to push the lead to 4-1 and effectively settle the outcome. Mead finished 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. James Wood crossed the plate twice and went 2-for-4 with a walk.
Philadelphia's Alan Rangel was not the problem. He allowed 1 run on 5 hits over 5.0 innings with 4 strikeouts and no walks, carrying a 2.25 ERA. The loss fell to Tim Mayza, who allowed 2 runs on 2 hits in 1.0 inning, falling to 2-2 with a 3.15 ERA.
Griffin improved to 8-2 with a 3.15 ERA. Washington moved to 40-38, while Philadelphia, which had won its previous two games, fell to 42-35.