Reserves help Phillies rally to a win over the Nationals

THE UMPIRING crew took its time to get out to home plate Friday night.

The Phillie Phanatic noted the umps' tardiness, shaking his head in mock disgust and pointing to the imaginary watch on his wrist. Eventually, the managers of the two teams converged at the plate, too, and the game got underway, only 2 minutes late of the scheduled starting time for the first pitch.

Part of you wondered whether they were waiting for seat fillers to come in and turn the frown upside down on the 12-year-old South Philly ballpark. The frown, in this case, was the sea of blue seats, which would later be announced in the form of an official attendance of 19,047, a record low at Citizens Bank Park.

The people who chose not to show up on an admittedly damp night missed the best effort yet from the 2015 Phillies.

Cesar Hernandez hit a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead single off Washington reliever Xavier Cedeno and Jerome Williams rebounded from a leadoff home run as the Phillies rallied to beat the Nationals, 4-1.

"Good win," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "A team effort, and a good way to start the weekend . . . Good to see the crowd really get into that seventh inning."

The seventh-inning rally was headed by a trio of players who haven't had much major league experience: Cameron Rupp followed Grady Sizemore's one-out walk with one of his own, Andres Blanco kept the line moving when he was hit by a pitch, and Hernandez gave the Phillies their first lead of the night with a single.

Rupp and Blanco were making their first starts of the season.

"With a lineup like tonight, it serves two purposes, it gets some guys off their feet, it serves other players on the team to get their feet wet and get into the game and contribute," said Sandberg, who sat regulars Ryan Howard, Cody Asche and Carlos Ruiz against Washington lefty Gio Gonzalez. "To come up with the win, it's even more special, but just involves everybody and really creates a spark. Not only on the field, but in the clubhouse."

Hernandez, the only position player who hasn't worked his way into Sandberg's ever-changing starting nine in Week 1, jumped on the first pitch Cedeno delivered out of the bullpen. Hitting from the right side off the lefty Cedeno, Hernandez ripped a fastball the opposite way, bringing pinch-runner Oduebel Herrera and Rupp across the plate.

"I know , he throws a lot of sliders," Hernandez said. "That's why I was ready for the fastball, one that I could hit."

"Sometimes it's good to swing early, because they think you're cold, because you're on the bench, and then they throw a fastball right away," teammate Freddy Galvis said about coming off the bench. "He got it good and got two RBI."

Rupp, hardly the team's fastest runner, slid home safely with what would be the game-winning run as Bryce Harper's throw ended up slightly up the line.

"I was a little bit surprised," Sandberg said with a smile. "Harper has one of the better arms in rightfield."

"I was safe, wasn't I?" Rupp said.

Two batters after Hernandez's go-ahead hit, Galvis added a run of insurance with his third hit of the night. Galvis finished the night 3-for-3 with a walk; he's hitting .385 (5-for-13) in his first week as Jimmy Rollins' replacement as the Phillies' regular shortstop.

"Freddy's just really staying within himself with his swing," Sandberg said. "He's not trying to do too much, he's using his hands and he's staying on top of the ball very well and so, resulting not only in hard, ground-ball hits, but the line drives."

Luis Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win. Williams, however, pitched well enough for a no-decision.

After serving up a home run to the game's first hitter, Washington rookie Michael Taylor, Williams held the Nationals to four singles in six shutout innings. It was an encouraging performance from Williams, who had a 9.95 ERA in his last three spring training starts (17 runs, 14 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings).

"I guess those two bullpens kind of helped out getting back to where I needed to be down in the zone, except the homer," said Williams, who hadn't pitched in 8 days. "But for the most part, being down in the zone and making my defense work."

Another encouraging sign: Ken Giles pitched a scoreless eighth inning after the Phillies claimed the lead.

Two nights earlier, Giles walked four of the seven batters he faced in his season debut. His fastball topped out at 93 mph against the last two Boston Red Sox batters he faced on Wednesday.

Friday night, Giles was slider-happy, but got results. Giles gave up a two-out double, but also struck out two of the four batters he faced.

Giles, who hit 100 mph regularly last season, topped out at 96 mph.

"He's working on some things," Sandberg said. "I really saw an improved slider. He's still working on his fastball, but he did throw a couple in the zone that kept them honest."

The aforementioned attendance (19,047) marked only the second time in 12 seasons that Citizens Bank Park drew fewer than 20,000 people. The only other game: April 26, 2006, when 19,182 people came though the turnstiles.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese