October 12, 2012: Phillies 5 at Nationals 2 (Phillies win series, 3-2)

The Nationals' 2012 replay finishes the same way their real life 2012 season ended - with a game 5 loss in the division series. Nats starter Gio Gonzalez walked 2 batters to start the 2nd, then Darin Ruf ripped a triple to score both runs. Kyle Frandsen would add a single to score Ruf. The 3 runs would really be all the Phillies needed, as Roy Halladay went 7 innings and allowed just 1 run. The Phillies got insurance runs in the 6th on a Carlos Ruiz homer and in the 8th on a Ryan Howard homer. The Nats matched those 2 runs, but it was all they could muster.

The Nats did miss a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 8th to pull within a run. Ryan Zimmerman cracked a home run shot, but Ruf snatched it at the fence for an out.

Ruf led the team in runs scored, HR and RBI and is the obvious choice for series MVP.

The Phillies will go to Arizona for game 1 of the NLCS. I was already guaranteed just one team (Detroit) matching the real life 2012 ALCS/NLCS participants regardless of the outcome of this game. A Nats-Diamondbacks NLCS would have been a rematch of my 2011 NLCS, but it was not meant to be. This will be the Phillies 2nd NLCS in my replay history; they beat the Rockies in 2009 before losing to the Red Sox in the World Series.

BOXSCORE: 2012 Philadelphia Phillies At 2012 Washington Nationals  10/12/2012
 
  Phillies           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Nationals          AB  R  H RBI AVG
  K.Frandsen 3B       5  0  3  1 .435     R.Bernadina LF      4  1  0  0 .077  
  J.Mayberry Jr CF    5  0  1  0 .280     T.Gorzelanny P      0  0  0  0 ----  
  C.Utley 2B          5  0  0  0 .125     J.Werth RF          2  1  2  1 .333  
  R.Howard 1B         4  1  1  1 .160     R.Zimmerman 3B      4  0  1  1 .316  
  C.Ruiz C            3  2  1  1 .286     A.Laroche 1B        4  0  0  0 .190  
  D.Brown RF          2  1  0  0 .200     I.Desmond SS        4  0  0  0 .333  
  D.Ruf LF            3  1  1  2 .368     B.Harper CF         4  0  0  0 .350  
  M.Martinez SS       4  0  0  0 .125     D.Espinosa 2B       4  0  0  0 .190  
  A.Bastardo P        0  0  0  0 ----     K.Suzuki C          3  0  1  0 .400  
  J.Papelbon P        0  0  0  0 ----     G.Gonzalez P        2  0  0  0 .000  
  R.Halladay P        3  0  0  0 .000     S.Burnett P         0  0  0  0 ----  
A-J.Rollins SS        0  0  0  0 .111   B-M.Morse PH,LF       1  0  1  0 .375  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      34  5  7  5                 Totals      32  2  5  2
 
A-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Halladay In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Burnett In 8th Inning
 
Phillies........ 0 3 0  0 0 1  0 1 0  -  5  7  0
Nationals....... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 1 0  -  2  5  1
 
Phillies (4-2)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
R.Halladay WIN(1-1)       7       3   1   1   2   8   0  90   5.25
A.Bastardo                0 1/3   2   1   1   0   0   0  10  13.50
J.Papelbon SAVE(3rd)      1 2/3   0   0   0   0   4   0  18   0.00
Totals                    9       5   2   2   2  12   0
 
Nationals (2-3)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
G.Gonzalez LOSS(1-1)      7       6   4   4   2  12   1  93   3.21
S.Burnett                 1       1   1   1   2   1   1  19   3.00
T.Gorzelanny              1       0   0   0   1   1   0  19   0.00
Totals                    9       7   5   5   5  14   2
 
ATTENDANCE- 37,685 DATE- Friday, October 12th 2012 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Jim Joyce, Jim Reynolds, Mike Dimuro, James Hoye
T- 2:41
LEFT ON BASE- Phillies: 7  Nationals: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Phillies: 0  Nationals: 0
ERRORS- T.Gorzelanny
DOUBLES- K.Frandsen-2(4th), J.Mayberry Jr(3rd), J.Werth(2nd), R.Zimmerman(2nd)
TRIPLES- D.Ruf(1st), J.Werth(1st)
HOME RUNS- R.Howard(2nd), C.Ruiz(1st)
RBIs- K.Frandsen(2nd), R.Howard(2nd), C.Ruiz(2nd), D.Ruf-2(7th), J.Werth(3rd),
      R.Zimmerman(6th)
STOLEN BASES- R.Bernadina(2nd)
WALKS- C.Ruiz, D.Brown-2, D.Ruf, J.Rollins, J.Werth-2
STRIKE OUTS- K.Frandsen, J.Mayberry Jr-4, C.Utley-2, R.Howard, C.Ruiz, D.Brown,
             D.Ruf-2, R.Halladay-2, R.Bernadina-2, A.Laroche-2, I.Desmond-2,
             B.Harper-2, D.Espinosa-4
2-out RBI- K.Frandsen
RLISP 2-out- R.Howard, I.Desmond-2, C.Utley, J.Mayberry Jr, M.Martinez,
             A.Laroche
WEB GEMS- Bot 8th: Darin Ruf robbed Ryan Zimmerman of a Homerun!
 
Third baseman Kevin Frandsen hit 2 doubles as the Philadelphia Phillies topped
the Washington Nationals by a score of 5 to 2 at Nationals Park.
 
Roy Halladay(1-1) had a strong outing.  He allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks in
7 innings.  Washington went down without a fight in the bottom of the 9th.
 
Halladay got help from Jonathan Papelbon who earned his 3rd save.  Gio
Gonzalez(1-1) was the loser.  Despite taking the loss, he whiffed 12 batters
in 7 innings.